A New Side of It All
by Kurai Hitsuji Yuki
Summary: What happens when the Bladers get too old to battle in the normal tournaments? Follow the BladeBreakers and two surprising new guest characters on a wild ride as the guys learn how BeyBlading used to be.
1. Hidden Away

**Note:** I do not own Beyblade or any of the characters from said show. I give all due credit to its creators and only take credit for Lilith and Layla as they are written here.

**Chapter 1: Hidden Away**

"We've received a letter! You might wanna come and read this!" Called a sultry voice from the living room. The steam from the recently taken hot shower was brushed aside, clearing the large vanity mirror in the bathroom for her reflection. She stared at the beautiful blond in the mirror across the sink, playing idly with her wet bangs as her soaked hair slicked excess droplets down her creamy, slightly tanned skin. With a sigh, she looked the girl up and down, taking in the smooth curve of her waist, her large breasts, and shapely hips. "Hey!" The voice called once more, and the blond sighed. Walking out of the bathroom, no cover for her voluptuous curvature, the blond strutted into the living room and crossed her arms just under her chest.

"What?" She said simply, taking in the other girl who was flopped on the couch casually. The girls bright auburn hair was sprawled out on the couches cushions and in her hands, which were held above her head, was an envelope, back torn open. Scanning the room, the blond noticed the letter, obviously the contents of the envelope, sitting on the coffee table, open and read. "What's it say?" She asked, walking to the couch and sitting down in the slick curve of her friends waist.

"Read it yourself. I was rereading who it was from, myself." Was the answer she received from behind her. As she read the letter, a smile graced her thin lips and she began to twirl her golden blond hair around her pointer finger. With a quick glance behind her, their eyes met, her friend peering over the emptied envelope. "You wanna?" She asked, the slight Russian accent peeking out.

"I believe this could be a lot of fun for us, Layla." Her voice was filled with a slight excitement, and her eyes were sparkling with glee. The other girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I guess we ll just have to go, since he's twisting our arms on this one. I'll call him, if we re going, he's going to pick us up." The red head pulled herself to her feet and started towards the bathroom. Before shutting the door she leaned out, hanging on the door frame and smiling. "After my bubble bath!" She called and whisked herself away to the bliss of a hot bath in a garden tub. Smiling, the blond stood and walked towards the bedroom, a decent wave in her step, as she leaned from hip to hip.

The knock on the door sounded throughout the small, modernized apartment like thunder, bouncing off of every wall and into the bedroom. Shifting a bit, with a groan, the girl pulled herself up. Sliding out of the bed in absolutely nothing, the blond grabbed a black silk robe that barely fell to her thighs and slid it on. Tying it closed as she walked out of the room and around the corner towards the door, another knock echoed into her head as the person outside her door grew slightly impatient. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She called as she reached the door and proceeded to undo the three locks that held it closed. Swinging the door open, she glared out at the person who would dared wake her from her slumber. Standing there in her door way was the same red head who showed up out of the blue from time to time. "Don t you have a key?"

"Yes," She said, happily bounding into the apartment. "but you locked the dead bolt." She turned and gave the blond large puppy dog eyes as she said the words, making her friend sigh and roll her eyes as she relocked all of the doors forces. "Anyways, it's time to start getting ready. We don't know how long we'll be there, thankfully we both have funds to hold ourselves for the next three years of non-stop shopping, just in case, but we do have to pack something." She said, rushing over to the couch and diving onto it's soft leather cushions.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pack. By the way, what do you think the weather's gonna be like in Japan?" The blond asked as she strolled into the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge. She popped the top open and sipped at the carbonated beverage, tipping her head to the side a bit in thought.

"I don't know, but it's winter, so pack warm. I m pretty sure Dickenson said it got cold, and if we're wrong, we can always go out shopping for better suited things." Layla rolled over onto her back and stared up at her friend. "I can't believe you didn't look that up, though. It's not really like you to be so relaxed about a trip, Lilith." The blond cast her icy gaze to her friend and smiled.

"I guess I just got a little too excited thinking about the actual reason for the trip." Lilith said, taking another sip of her soda and striding towards the large windows that over looked down town Paris. The lights glowed softly against the setting sun, the Eiffel tower just beginning to come alive with the buzz of ant like figures filled with romanticism and cheesy intentions. "It might be good to leave France for a while, to just see the world for a change instead of living my day to day life here as daddy's little girl." She murmured under her breath as she took in the scene she saw every night.

"You could always come and stay with me in Moscow for a few months." Layla offered, rolling off the couch and walking up behind Lilith, wrapping her arms around her waist and setting her chin on her friends shoulder. "Though you d have to dress twice as warm." Lilith smiled and leaned her head against her friends.

"And freeze my butt off in ten feet of snow? No thank you." With a slight chuckle, they released each other and walked towards the bedroom. "This whole trip has me thinking about the good old days, when daddy used to actually have time for me and would whisk me away to so many different places to take in the different cultures. Now, he hardly ever sees me because he s so enraptured with work, and when he does, it s only for a few hours to go over things I need to know for when I take over Live Pop." She rolled her eyes and walked into the spacious room. The king sized bed sat against one wall, its lavender colored, silk sheets mussed and the giant, tan fur blanket tossed haphazardly on the top. Across from it stood a large floor standing mirror, at least four feet wide and six feet high, with intricately carved roses on the stand. Walking to the large walk-in closet, Lilith ran her fingers through her gold, wavy hair. "So, should I just grab all sorts of colors, or do a theme this time?" She asked, leaning against the door frame and looking into the closet at the perfectly arranged clothes. The clothing had been organized by the color and style, purple dresses next to purple dresses and so on.

"I think you should be spontaneous!" Layla called out, jumping on Lilith s bed and rolling around like a dog. "It's more fun if you wear all sorts of colors and styles to shake things up a bit. You know, make people always look twice and watch as their eyes pop out of their heads. Something sexy followed by something modest." As she rolled onto her stomach and leaned her head on her hands, she began to kick her legs back and forth in the air. "You know how I just love watching you walk by, every guy in the room following you with their gazes. It keeps them from looking at me."

"Oh, but their eyes are all on you when that battle is called, lovely." Lilith said as she pulled out several sweaters and jeans in assorted colors, and walked out to the open suit case on top of the dresser. Walking back into the closet, she began to pick out a number of long sleeved maxi dresses, simple and always stylish. As she walked back into the main bed room she paused to stare at Layla, who had moved from the bed and was now searching through her underwear drawer, picking up various lacy things and tossing them into the suitcase. "What are you doing?" She asked as she walked towards her friend slowly, dangerously.

"Oh, come on. We re going to see a bunch of guys who are close to our age and they have a very good chance of being very good looking. You have all this cute lingerie and no one to wear it for, you might as well live a little while we re there." She smiled as she held up a largely sized black lace bra covered in small blue bows. Lilith tossed the clothes into the suitcase and went after the bra, chasing Layla around the room until she'd finally tackled her to a stop on the bed. As she sat on top of her friend, she held the bra up and tipped her head a bit.

"Sure, okay." She said with a smile and a shrug, climbing off of the other girl and beginning to organize the suitcase, including all of the nice lingerie that had been added. She finished packing and they sat on the couch for a while, watching TV idly, until a knock on the door alerted them to their rides arrival. Layla jumped off of the couch and ran to the door while Lilith went to her room and wheeled out her bags.

"Mr. Dickenson!" Layla called out loud, making Lilith smile, for what she thought would be the last time for the next few weeks. Running her hands through her hair, she sucked in her air and put on the serious face that she used against everyone but Layla. Walking out, she crossed her arms under her chest and leaned against the wall, staring at the older man without emotion. The man turned, his large stature and chubby cheeks making him appear younger then he probably was.

"Ah, there you are, Lilith. Are you ready to go and meet the Blade Breakers?" He asked casually and she tipped her head in mock thought. After a few moments, she shrugged as though the meeting were nothing more than a trip to the store. She saw him frown and heard the slight sigh of failed expectations. '_Was he expecting me to be excited or something? To show him some sort of giddy school girl side of myself? Hell no, old man, that s saved for Layla only._' She thought as he walked over to help her with her bags. Layla ran and grabbed her own, racing out the door as fast as she could and leaving Lilith alone with Mr. Dickenson. She silently took a deep breath and began to walk out of the apartment. "Lilith." His voice sounded so serious, she couldn't help but stop and look back at him.

"What is it?" She kept her voice flat, listless, keeping up the facade of not caring at all. He walked to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. Looking into his black eyes she made sure to keep her face as still as stone. "Yes?" She pressed and he tensed a bit.

"I think one of the Blade Breakers can help you with the problem we discussed last time. I urge you to spend as much time with them as possible while you re in Japan." The honesty in his voice stabbed into her like pins and she suppressed a shudder. Shrugging his hand off, she continued walking, leaving him behind in silence. When she reached the car outside, a young man took her bags and placed them in the trunk of the car while she and Mr. Dickenson climbed into the plush leather seats. The ride to the Air port was a quiet one, Lilith staring out the window at the familiar streets of Paris flashing by. She couldn't stop thinking about what he'd mentioned earlier. She couldn't get the conversation out of her head, the original one where he'd told her that she needed to lighten up inside and outside of the Bey stadium. '_Lighten up in my life? Who does he think he is? My father?_' She thought to herself as she tried to relax herself. By the time they got to the airport, she'd gone over his exact words at least a hundred times. As the plane lifted off the ground, she took one last look as the famous city grew smaller and drifted behind them slowly. They were on their way to Japan, and on a fast track to meeting with a group of guys who'd taken the entire Beyblading world by storm.

"Lilith, come on, wake up." Layla's voice drifted into the midst of Lilith's dream before the shaking was truly felt. Lilith opened her eyes slowly and looked up at her long time friend. Layla smiled widely and pointed towards the window. "We're going to land in about five minutes, so get ready." With that, she walked off, returning to her seat down the aisle and out of Lilith's forethought. Staring out the window, the blond couldn't get over the view of Bay City, with its tall, modern buildings, and millions of people, a small part reminded her of home, though everything was very different. She could already make out the sharp contours of the classic Japanese styled buildings, a part of their culture, and something very different from Frances extravagantly carved stone ones. While Paris was filled with light, marble colored structures, the ones in Japan appeared to be much darker and more wood than anything else. As the plane landed she took a deep breath and gathered her bags. "We'll drop you off at your temporary residence, where you'll be living while you're here in Japan, and give you a day to settle in and get used to things. Tomorrow we'll meet the Blade Breakers and do a bit of remembering." Mr. Dickenson said with a smile, turning and leaving the two of them standing just outside the gate.

"Remembering? Remembering what, exactly?" Layla asked in a confused tone. Lilith shook her head at her friend and started off toward baggage claim.

Lilith stared across the seats at the old man, a slight sense of hatred welling up inside of her. '_What the hell does he know about me anyways? All he knows is that fake face I've been putting on for the past five years. He thinks I need help? HA! If I need help controlling myself, he needs eyes to see and a brain to think with._' Her thoughts raced, the sleep that still over whelmed her from jet lag making her irritable. He'd showed up at their door step nice and early, or what was early for them, and whisked them away with hardly a word on where exactly they were going. She'd hardly gotten sleep last night anyways due to the unfamiliar setting.

"So, Where are we gonna meet these boys, anyways?" Layla asked, easing Lilith's mind from the anxiety of having to ask herself. The old man looked at them and smiled.

"Well, first, we're going shopping, since I don t think you ladies brought anything terribly fancy. After that we re going to meet them at a party that one is holding. It's quite large, but that should be fine for you both, right?" He said, both of them knowing it was a rhetorical question and not to be answered. The two women exchanged slightly worried looks as the car pulled to a stop in front of a mall of sorts and the driver jumped out to open their doors.

Stepping out, Lilith couldn't help but embrace the pang of home sickness that rose sharply within her. She knew the shopping here would be nothing like the high rise shops of Paris, fashion capitol of the world. A slight breeze bit into her cheeks as she waited for the other two outside the car. Layla jumped out and was on her way towards the doors in a matter of seconds, making Lilith follow behind her.

"See? I told you we'd be able to just buy whatever we forgot." The enthusiastic red head grabbed her friends hand and pulled her into the high end shopping mall. Looking over her shoulder Lilith kept her eye on the large older man, a suspicious feeling welling up inside of her. Layla caught her friends wary eyes and looked back at Mr. Dickenson as he made his way to them at his own slow pace. "What s wrong? You have that look on your face."

"What look? I do not have a look!" Lilith said defensively as she began to walk and tore her eyes from their third wheel. Once they were far enough away from him, she leaned closer to Layla and confided the truth. "I'm suspicious of him. I don't know, it just feels like Dickenson's up to something this time. It's not like I trusted him completely before, but this time, he's always smiling and talking like he knows something we don't." Lilith pretended to be looking into a dress shop as she talked, using it to cover what they were really talking about. "Did I tell you what he told me the last time?" Layla caught on to the act quickly and pretended to be interested in the disgustingly gaudy dress in the display.

"You mean what he told you before? About being too cold and cruel?"

"Yeah. He brought it up at the apartment, saying that one of these guys could help me with it." She rolled her eyes away from the older man and continued walking. "Once I meet these boys, I m out of here. I hate it here already." Her voice was cold and she held her head high as she walked to a shop that she was actually semi-interested in. Dragging her friend inside, Lilith began to look at the dresses inside. "So, what kind of dress should I look for?" She questioned.

"Hmmmm..." Layla looked around at the dresses and shrugged. "I don't even think any of these will fit your chest." The two girls looked at each other, after making sure that Mr. Dickenson had waited for them outside the shop, Lilith met Laylas eyes and the two women began to laugh at the statement.

"Now I m determined to find one that will!" Lilith said as she began to sort through the dresses, pulling out ones with potential. After a session of "fashion show" where they both tried on, what seemed like, a million dresses, they both finally exited the shop with bags.

"Alright then, let s go," Mr. Dickenson began.

"Hell no! We need shoes!" Layla yelled, grabbing Liliths hand and dragging her off towards the nearest shoe store. They spent a good amount of time looking for shoes that matched the new gowns they'd gotten, but when they were finally successful, they walked out. "Okay, now we can go and meet your boys." Layla said with a smile. Once they reached the car, the girls polished themselves up with makeup and changed into their clothes.


	2. Meeting His Gaze

**Disclaimer:** I do not own BeyBlade or any of the characters, except Layla and Lilith.

**Chapter 2: Meeting His Gaze**

The mansion was filled to the brim with people from all over the world. Some of the faces Lilith recognized, but for the most part, they were all strangers, which not only made her feel uncomfortable, but incredibly self conscious. Without thinking, she gently pulled her dress up a bit in the front, a sorry attempt to hide the large chest she'd been bestowed with by genes. Layla looked at her as she shifted uncomfortably, almost all the eyes in the room focused on them. "Ladies, this way, I've already spotted them." Dickenson announced as he lead them through the large crowd, which was easy since people moved out of the way for the two girls. _'How can you find anybody in this mess?'_ Lilith thought, reaching down and grabbing Layla's hand to calm her anxiety from the crowd. Layla gripped her hand in a sense of calm, telling her everything would be fine. As they got closer to the far wall, the two women noticed the group that seemed to stand out more than every one else, yet they hid very well amidst the shadows. Running her eyes over the mismatched group, she wanted to laugh, since they looked as though none of them truly belonged at the party.

"Those are your boys?" Lilith asked, her voice stale from her suppressed emotions. Mr. Dickenson looked back at her and smiled. Once they reached the group, he turned to the side and motioned from the two to the guys.

"Lilith, Layla, meet the BladeBreakers." Lilith watched as he pointed to each one, taking in their names and appearances at the time. "This is Max," He started by pointing to a young blond with large blue eyes. He hadn't truly dressed up for the occasion, daring to wear a simple green button up shirt and some slacks, though she noticed the bright green tennis shoes that somehow seemed to tie in with the outfit. "Tyson," By far the dumbest looking, he'd shown up in nothing but everyday street clothes, making Lilith feel incredibly over dressed. His shaggy blue hair didn't help with his slightly baggy blue jeans and randomly thrown on white T-shirt. She noted that his red jacket matched his tennis shoes in an awful way, and could already tell that she wouldn't like his personality by his huge, overly happy grin. "Kenny," Finally someone who'd actually tried to dress up, though the tux looked a bit too big for his smaller stature. His large, thick glasses hid his eyes from her, as did his long, shaggy brown hair, which made her feel even more uncomfortable than she'd already been. "Ray," Lilith actually didn't feel like punching him like the other three, because he looked decent enough. His Chinese Pien Fu was almost a match for the dress Layla had picked out, which peeked Lilith's interest. He was a good looking young man with golden eyes and long black hair, which he'd tied back behind him almost like a tail. Lilith almost wanted to smile at the fact that he seemed aware of how well red and white suited him, but she resisted and remained as stoic as she always acted in public. "And finally, Kai, the one throwing this little party." He ended and her eyes roved the young man at the end.

His dual toned hair caught her eye, as it seemed to be the most interesting to her brain, a sort of silver on the top and midnight blue underneath. His face remained uninterested and he only spared her a passing glance of his royal purple eyes, a motion she wasn't used to. He, unlike those he stood with, wore the proper attire for the party, a tux and tie with the right shoes, and the jacket in plain black and white. "Little party? I think you re blind Mr. Dickenson, cause this party isn't anywhere close to little." The voice, which seemed to thoroughly annoy her already, reached her ears and almost made her jump. She found the source to be the one named Tyson, the one she'd disliked from the second she'd seen him.

"Well, you know what I meant." Mr. Dickenson said, slightly defensively. Lilith couldn't help but feel like turning away and hopping on the next flight back to France. She took a deep breath and cast her ice cold gaze to Mr. Dickenson. The old man shivered quickly and looked back at her, clearing his throat when he realized her thoughts. "Anyways, I wanted the seven of you to meet so that you each can see different sides of life, and maybe share some fun experiences. It will help both sides greatly, in the long run." He announced and smiled at Lilith, who simply stared at him.

"This is a complete waist of time. These two have nothing to teach us, except maybe how to shop." The voice came from the young man at the end, the one actually hosting the party itself. "I mean, look at them. They're both probably as stupid as Tyson is, and to make matters worse, I can look at them and tell that they've never bladed against true talent in their lives, if they've bladed at all." At that statement, Mr. Dickenson's eyes grew wide and he stared in Lilith's direction. Kai pointed to Layla. "Besides, I don t think this Russian bimbo could find her way out of a cardboard box, she'd probably just pay to have someone take her out of it. I m out of here." He turned on his heels and walked out towards the balcony, leaving the BladeBreakers plus Layla and Mr. Dickenson open mouthed and speechless. Lilith's eyes were glued to his direction as she brewed in her anger for a few moments. She fumed as she ran after him, her dress flowing behind her gracefully. The door closed behind Kai as he left the building into the cool night air. Moments later the door burst open as the busty blond leaned out.

"Wait!" She yelled, her voice dripping with poison. "You can trash talk me, but where do you get off saying anything about Layla!" She stormed over to him in a rage and he swore the temperature around them dropped. "Who are you to talk about us? Have you looked around yourself lately? You're not exactly understated yourself, rich boy!" He backed up as she got closer and closer with every word until he was against the rail and they were nose to nose. "You may have as much money as we do," She said, her voice softening slightly since their close proximity made it an easier intimidation for her. "But we have something you don't, and no bank account can show that to you. We have love, and it's obvious you wouldn't know what to do with love if you got it, but I guess since that will never happen," She backed up a bit and smiled smugly before finishing, putting a hand on her hip. "You have nothing to worry about." Her ice blue eyes met his royal purple and held them for moments on end until she finally had fumed her anger away and quickly turned around. "You were right about one thing, though. This was an enormous waste of time." She hissed before stomping back inside. Kai leaned back against the railing, a small smile touching the corner of his lips.

As Lilith approached the group, she looked around at the boys and frowned deeply. "Where s Layla? I Want to go home now, Mr. Dickenson, if you don t mind. I do have to say that this has been, by far, the worst little field trip I've ever been dragged on. This escapade ends as soon as I can get tickets home." She looked around the room and found Layla stacking a plate full of food, her friends greatest weakness. Sucking in a deep breath, she walked with her head high across the room, not noticing the young man she'd just been with walk back into the room and over to his friends, a smile on his lips. When she reached the other woman, she waited for a moment until the other noticed her. Layla looked up at her, a finger sandwich sticking out of her mouth.

"Hi Lilith." She said slowly through the mouth full of food. Lilith simply raised an eyebrow. Putting the plate down, she took the sandwich out of her mouth and swallowed. "You don t look happy. You want to go home as soon as possible, right?" Lilith nodded and Layla sighed. "Can we stay for another...um...day or two?" She asked, glancing back towards the boys quickly then staring at the floor. "I want to...um," She paused as she very obviously looked for an excuse. "Sight see! I want to go out and sight see." She said, nodding quickly like an idiot. Lilith watched her and sighed, relaxing a bit.

"Fine, we'll stay for one week, but no more than that. Once that week is over, Layla, I'm going back to France, whether you're with me or not." She said sternly, turning in the direction of the door. "In the mean time, I'm going to have the driver take me back to the temporary house. Are you coming?" Layla raced to her side and grabbed her sleeve childishly.

"Yes." She said quickly. Lilith spared one last glance at the boys, finding Kai in the group and staring at him for a few moments. Across the room and through the crowd, their eyes met and for a moment her heart skipped a beat. Pushing aside the quirky feelings that had begun to well up inside her, she gracefully left the mansion as a flurry of snow fell outside.

Lilith sat in a chair near the window, a cup of vanilla tea held by both hands, watching the snow fall outside. Her white, floor length sweater dress helped warm her, as did the heater on full power and the blanket that had been wrapped around her shoulders. Layla walked into the room slowly, dressed in sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt, holding a cup of her own tea. The look of depression on her face gave away the earlier chat between the two about going out, Layla wanted to, Lilith didn't. "It's cold today." Lilith said softly, making Layla jump.

"I guess." She mumbled in return, flopping down on the couch and almost spilling her tea down her front. Lilith didn't pull her eyes away from the falling snow as the silence made Layla's ears ring. _'I miss it more than I thought I would, that lighted tower, the glitter of the city...of **my** city.'_ Lilith thought, taking in as much detail outside the window that she could. Their temporary home was the top suite of a high rise building in down town Bay City. The apartment was a little bigger than her own in Paris and the view was very different. It'd been furnished with, what appeared to be, the most modern of decor, which Lilith felt had been done to make her feel more comfortable, since it was how she'd decorated her apartment. The window had begun to frost over, making the strange view slightly hazy. _'When will she be done flirting with-'_ Lilith's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. She stood up and grabbed her cell phone off of the table, getting ready to make a call when the doorbell rang through out the house. Layla jumped to her feet and raced towards the door with Lilith, putting her tea on the coffee table before doing so. Swinging the door open, they both leaned out slightly and stared at the older man who had backed up into the wall behind him in shock. Next to him on the floor were three of the four BladeBreakers they'd met the day before, the fourth standing off to the side looking just a little surprised.

"Hi Mr. Dickenson!" Layla called cheerily, bounding out the door and spinning around with glee. "Hey, Mr. Dickenson, tell Lilith to let me go out and play? Please, please, please?" The redhead begged before she was violently pushed away by the very determined blond.

"Dickenson! Tell me they have one here in Japan!" She demanded, getting right in his face and making standing an impossible task. So flustered and confused, the old man stammered on a few words before finally clearing his throat.

"Lilith...may I ask what exactly this "one" would be?" His voice wavered a bit as he tried to enjoy how excited she was. She took a deep breath and stepped back a bit, making the boys stare intently at her. She relaxed herself in the hopes that if she asked more nicely he'd say yes.

"Mr. Dickenson" She started, putting her arms in front of her, pushing her breasts together, tilting her head and bit and making a slight pouting face. The older mans eyes widened and he blushed intensely. "Is there, maybe, possibly, a Japanese battle arena around here?" She asked in a sweet voice, fidgeting slightly to add the sweet and innocent effect. Laylas eyes sparkled as she heard the words and she raced to Liliths side with the same huge eyes and innocent fidgeting. The boys all looked at each other and smiled. Tyson took a step forward and spoke up.

"Of course there is, it's down by the shore. Man, I haven't been there in a long while." He said thinking back on the old days. Lilith stood taller, perking up at the sound and smiling. Mr. Dickenson held both hands up and smiled wryly, looking at the girls.

"Now, now, what he's thinking of isn't what you two want." He said and Lilith's eyes went straight to him, the icy glare enough to kill. "But there is a battle arena here in Bay City for what you're thinking of!" He added quickly, her eyes instantly sparkling with excitement. "Would you like to go?" He asked slowly as the two girls clasped hands and jumped up and down, almost giving all the guys near them nose bleeds.

"Lets do it!" Layla called, racing back into the house so fast she tripped and fell on her face. "Ouch, my nose!" She called as Lilith ran past her and turned on her heel, her dress flying up just enough to expose her lower legs. The blond laughed and all the men stiffened. Laylas shirt had slipped up and now showed off her large breasts, which were trapped in an adorably lacy white bra with red bows lining the cleavage line and one larger one in between.

"You're last, you battle last!" Lilith said as she turned back around and ran for the room. Layla's eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet and racing for the back bed room. The boys simply blinked, restraining themselves, but going over the scene several times in their heads. Mr. Dickenson sighed and shook his head back and forth. "It's still the only thing that makes her happy." He murmured, drawing Kai's attention. The dual haired young man stared at the other male, his royal purple eyes analyzing the concerned look on his face. In a matter of moments, the two girls came running from the room again, Lilith still in the lead having already slid her feet into a pair of very stylish fur trimmed heels, slipping her arms into a military jacket that fell to her knees. As Layla slid to the floor and put her shoes on, the blond buttoned the jacket and threw on a matching knit beret. The ensemble was all white, which went well, some how, with Layla's black sweats and "Foamy the Squirrel" T-shirt. Kai couldn t help but be curious about what could make Lilith so excited, not after the night before. He watched carefully as Layla jumped to her feet and the beautiful blond grabbed her purse. The two girls ran a head of them, racing to the car that waited for them in front of the building.

"I don t get it. Mr. Dickenson, there's only one Bey Arena in Bay city, so why did you tell them I was wrong?" Tyson whined, crossing his arms and pouting like always.

"Tyson, they didn't ask for a Bey Arena." The old man began cautiously. They all thought on the statement for a moment, thinking back to the scene.  
>"Right, she said "Battle" Arena not "Bey" Arena." Ray pointed out, looking towards Mr. Dickenson. "But I thought that was a...I don t know...something from where ever she's from." He said slowly, rubbing the back of his head and laughing awkwardly. All their eyes widened when Mr. Dickenson crossed his arms and shook his head, searching for the right words to use to explain it.<p>

"They don't Blade like you do, boys. In fact, they way that these girls blade is much older than how you've always bladed. Don't under estimate them in the slightest because they're pretty." Kai looked at Mr. Dickenson in confusion as Max started, aghast at the statement.

"Are you saying that they're better than us, Mr. D?" He asked, looking just the slightest bit hurt at the mere thought of being "second best".

"I never said that!" The older man defended as they approached the car. "I m just saying that these two, despite how pretty or fashionable they are, may surprise you. There are secrets about people you don't know, and you're about to learn a lot of them about numerous people." He said before they got in. Hesitating, he swallowed hard and murmured. "Including myself."

The drive, which had started in the city, was now moving quickly outside the city limits, building the excitement and anticipation inside the two girls. Layla was glued to the window, staring out at the scenery as it flashed by, bouncing idly up and down. Lilith, however, was staring down at her hands, playing with her perfectly French manicured nails. _'What is it going to be like? Am I ready for that rush right now? So far from home, will it feel the same?'_ Her thoughts rolled over her Battle statistics for the last year, which had her as the undefeated champion of Paris, and all of France. _'The Demon Daughters have the most Honor in the system, even though there's only two of us in the team right now. I wonder if Syren and Rasputin will be able to handle it.'_ She felt Layla grab her arm and shake her, the action forcing her out of her thoughts. She cast an ice cold glare at her best friend, who simply smiled and pointed towards the window.

"We're almost there!" She cheered, bouncing in her seat some more as she rattled off about how excited she was. Lilith forced back a smile, already feeling terrible about breaking the night before at the party and earlier that day in the apartment. "I wonder what it's gonna be like! I haven't battled in ages!" Layla said with a smile, relaxing a bit. Lilith began to feel the oh-so familiar feeling of their two person team readying themselves. Layla was getting into her state of mind, a beast of a state that nobody could dominate save herself. Closing her eyes, Lilith took a deep, slow breath, letting her mind roll over scenes from her last few battles, the blood, the screams, and her ever present musical choice. She stopped herself when she remembered what her bit had looked like the last time. She let herself break again to flash a small smile at the image before she opened her eyes as they pulled to a stop. She looked towards Layla, who was sitting properly in her seat. The two girls met gazes and the boys could feel the partnership between them. Layla got out of the car, more serious than the four of them had ever seen her, and she waited next to the open door while Lilith calmly slid her legs around and slipped out of the car. They stepped aside to let the boys out and Lilith breathed in the crisp air. They were at the entrance to a building that had been built into the side of a mountain, the door sliding misted glass.

"It's going to be worth this trip to take over Japan, Layla." Lilith said in a soft, almost sweet voice. Layla smiled and looked at Lilith. The blond drew her eyes to meet her friends. "We'll demolish these weaklings one by one. When we're done here, Japan will be added to the list, and who knows, maybe I'll feel so good about the win, I'll take you around the world to do the same in other places." Layla smiled and ran her hands through her long auburn hair. Without another word, the two girls entered the mountain side facility. Mr. Dickenson couldn't keep the look of apprehension from showing up on his face and the dual hair young man caught it before following the girls inside.


	3. Fighting For Honor

**Chapter 3: Fighting For Honor**

"Whoa!" Max's voice rung out loudly in the large lobby of the building. A giant sized Christmas tree sat in the center of the room, already twinkling with white lights and sparkling with all sorts of different ornaments. Off to the side was an older woman behind a desk, a receptionist of sorts, playing with her nails and occasionally typing a few keys on the computer. Lilith and Layla walked up to the desk and stood in front of the woman for a few moments until she held out her hand, palm up. The girls looked at each other and smiled. Layla reached into her pocket as Lilith reached into her purse and both pulled out an I.D of sorts. It had their pictures with large letters saying "Demon Daughters". On Liliths, however, it said "Team Captain" and on Laylas it merely had a black star. The woman took the and spared them a passing glance, at first. After looking away she stopped and took a second look at the cards, then shot to her feet and stared at the girls. Layla smiled and Lilith put her hands on her hips. The woman then began to type like mad and finally looked up at them and smiled.

"Would you ladies prefer indoors or outdoors?" She asked, her voice full of caution as she smiled wryly. Layla looked at Lilith and smiled, tugging gently on her sleeve, childishly.

"Outside." Lilith said simply and the woman nodded and typed away again. Hesitating, she pointed toward one of the three doors in the great lobby. Each door had a different marking on it, the one she pointed to had a green leaf on it with gold lining.

"The fourth door down, at the end of that hallway, that's all yours, remember to place your- oh, you'd know that already. Sorry, your highness." She said quickly, bowing slightly in Liliths direction and sitting slowly. The girls walked off while the boys stared after them in awe.

"What was with that "your highness" stuff, Mr.D?" Tyson said, his eyes wide as he stared after the girls and followed them through the door. The hallway on the other side was long and only about two people wide. The doors were widely spread and they had to walk what felt like a great deal just to get to the fourth door. Layla leapt in front of the door and swung it open, revealing another, much smaller hallway with one door at the end. There were inset glass boxes on either side of the hallway, which the girls walked up to. Inside the boxes were small pedestals, in which the girls carefully placed their blades. Kai took in their blades, Laylas black and red one was thick and obviously had a high defense, but he could tell that her offense was nothing to laugh at either, since her attack ring was practically the size of his hand. On the top he noticed the image of a large cat, but he couldn't take in much more detail before Lilith placed her own blade inside the glass display. The large blade took him by surprise, since the one thing all of them first noticed about it was its rainbow, pastel coloring, the complete opposite from her personality. They all stared at the blade for a moment and then moved their eyes to its holder, who looked back at them and glared.

"What?" She asked, her voice alone enough to kill and they all smiled wryly and shook their heads quickly, holding their hands up defensively. "Layla, lets be sure to take Japan quickly but remember," She looked at her friend and smiled evilly. "Let me have fun with this." Layla nodded and ran for the door at the end of the hall, grabbing the handle and looking back at Lilith. The blond nodded, walking up behind the red head and waiting until she opened the door. As the girls walked in, Mr. Dickenson answered Tysons question from earlier.

"Earlier, when the receptionist called her "your highness" she was referring to Liliths "Personal Title", which is a title she holds alone, not them both as a team. Their "Team Title" is Golden. Liliths personal title, which holds more weight than Laylas, is "Queen of Hearts"." The boys looked at him in slight shock before Ray snapped out of it and looked at him curiously.

"Than What s Layla's personal title?" He asked as they started into the room. The older man smiled and turned his back on them, looking at the room itself while stripping off his coat. The room was designed like a rose garden and was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. As they walked inside, they were met with the beautiful scent of flowers and the warmth of a sunny day, which caused them to all strip off their jackets. Kai simply watched, having not worn any warm over clothes to begin with. Flabbergasted, they all set their jackets down at a rather large, intricately designed white garden table, which was conveniently placed off to the side. The girls, on the other hand, sat down at a set of swings that had been placed in the center of a circle of roses. Looking across the garden, they saw a mirror image of where they were, a table just like theirs and the swing set in the center of an encirclement. In between the two encircled sections was a large space marked out in blood red roses, but otherwise completely cleared of anything but grass.

"Layla's personal title is "Czar", since she's Russia's champion. Both titles are intimidating enough, but Lilith's holds more weight due to the fact that more countries use the title "Queen" than the title "Czar". It's a fairly simple concept, but it makes Lilith seem more intimidating than Layla, which is a good thing." Mr. Dickenson sat down in the chair furthest away from the apparent arena, leaving the rest to sit closer to the action.

"Mr. D, I have a simple question. How are they gonna have a Bey Battle if they left their blades in that glass case?" Max questioned, making everyone look at him as the realization hit them.

"Yeah, that's not even possible, right? You need a blade to battle, don't you?" Ray asked, sitting in the seat on the end next to Mr. Dickenson. The old man smiled again and looked out at the arena. "Not only that, but there's not even a Bey Dish, where is this battle going to happen?"

"This arena is quite unique, don t you think? We've seen some interesting ones in the past, but this is nothing like those. This arena was made specifically for this type of battle, and it wouldn't be used for the type of battling you guys have done for years. These girls know what this arena is used for," He looked to the girls, who were looking around at the open space beyond the roses. "And they're thinking of how to best to use this arena to their advantage." Just as he finished, the door on the opposite side of the arena opened up and three men and one women walked in. Their ages were close to their own, but each one was very different from them. All the men wore thick leather jackets and had numerous piercings on their faces, and gauges in their ears. The girl wore a similar outfit, but she'd matched tight leather pants and a corset top with the jacket. Her belly button piercing showed and she was chewing her bubble gum like a cow, showing off her tongue ring. They looked across the arena at the two girls and smiled.

"Is this it? Fighting these two spoiled girls is gonna be a cinch." The woman said, taking off her jacket and throwing it at one of the guys. She grabbed another one and pulled him over to the swing set. "You two little girls ready to cry?" To that, Lilith smiled and sat down at the swing, digging in her purse and pulling out, what appeared to be, some sort of mp3 player.

"Just don't get your common blood on my dress, it's worth more than you." Lilith hissed with a smug smile. The woman's eyes almost popped out of her head as she fumed and touched the side of the swing set. Her team mate did the same to the other side of the set before they both moved and sat on the swings. Kai, curious to the move, turned his eyes to Lilith and Layla, who did the same. Once Lilith, who was closest to them, moved to sit, he saw the small fingerprint scanner on the side of the swings poll. Looking around, he noticed the large monitor on the far right wall. A computerized voice announced loudly in the room as Lilith and Layla went and sat down.

"Team: Blazers versus Team: Demon Daughters." The voice began. "Team: Blazers, 80 Honor. Fighters: Suzuki Matenou, 60 Honor, Haruki Tsukatou, 80 Honor." The other team cheered loudly, whooping and whistling like idiots at the announcement.

"The first time it says Honor is the teams honor as a whole, the second time is the persons Personal Honor, Honor they've gained from fighting singular battles." Mr. Dickenson explained to the boys as they all stared at the screen as the names and Honor points were shown with a picture of the person it'd named. The girl, Haruki, sat up tall with pride, but her smug smile was quickly washed away by Liliths obvious lack of interest, since she was busy hooking up her mp3 player to the jacks on the swings seat.

"Team: Demon Daughters," The voice continued, drawing everyone's attention and silencing the opposing team. "100 Honor." The announcement caused the other team to scream in surprise.

"No way!" The woman shouted, standing up and staring at the screen as the Demon Daughters logo, a black devil skull with large, curved horns and a red bow on its head, appeared.

"Fighters: Layla Yegorova, 100 Honor, Czar." It stated and the woman looked at them. Layla waved and smiled innocently. "Lilith Leroy, 100 Honor, Queen of Hearts." At those words, the woman fell to her knees, staring at Lilith who held her head high and smiled, an eerie smiled. "Team: Blazers is fighting with Rank 60 Bit Bruiser and Rank 60 Bit Craven." The screen showed the two bits, the first, Bruiser, a black elephant with two trunks and three tusks. The second, Craven, was a large bear covered in swirled markings. The boys stared at the images, obviously taken from battles, as Craven was holding another bit beast in his mouth and Bruiser was making an attack in the photos.

"Team: Demon Daughters is fighting with Rank 90 Bit Rasputin," Again, the other team almost had heart attacks as the ranking was called and the image was shown on the screen. The BladeBreakers stared, wide eyed, at the image of a large Liger, white in body, with navy blue tiger stripes. His thick mane was the same pure white, but had streaks of navy blue gracing its ends, and his ferocious golden eyes seemed to stare into them, even though it was only a picture. "And Rank 90 Bit Syren." The image appeared and the woman fell to the floor laughing. The picture was of a graceful looking bird, its wings at its sides, its head held high. The thing that made the woman laugh, however, was the birds pastel, rainbow markings, catching the boys by surprise. They all looked in Liliths direction quickly before looking back at the picture. The wing span was impossible to tell, but the beautiful bird had a unique coloration, a white head that faded into yellow, then orange, pink, green, purple, and ending each and every feather with an eye catching midnight blue.  
>"THAT'S your Bit!" The women howled as she rolled onto her side, her eyes watering from laughing too hard. "It's a fucking pansy ass tweety bird!" She screamed and Lilith simply smiled. "Are you really going into battle with that thing?" The woman screamed, but Lilith kept her calm demeanor, simply watching the woman and smiling.<p>

"When all players are ready, please sit down and ready yourselves." After a moment, Lilith pressed a button on her small red Ipod and the voice chimed in once again. "This battle will be fought with a speaker assist on the side of the Demon Daughters." After a small pause, and another smug smile from Lilith towards Haruki, four small, floor launchers rose up from the ground, making the BladeBreakers stand and gawk. The launchers shot out the two blades that Lilith and Layla had put in the case, two other blades shooting out of the launchers on the opposite side. Almost immediately, Lilith and Laylas blades tipped a U-turn and stopped, in what appeared to be a defensive stance, in front of the two girls. The other two blades simply sat where they'd landed, the two players staring at the Demon Daughter's blades.

"What the hell are you doing? You're both defensive players? Then how the fuck do you get anything done?" The man, Suzuki, shouted, pointing at Layla, specifically. Kais eyes were drawn to Lilith who, instead of steaming over the comments like she had his comment the other night, was staring down at her Ipod as though nothing was wrong. "It's gonna feel so good crushing you two!" He called as a timer appeared on the screen.

"The battle will start in 3. 2. 1" The voice said shortly before a loud, long beep rang out and the woman and man began screaming. "It's time to kill, Craven!" The woman called, as the man did the same for his. "Go get 'em Bruiser!" The two bit beasts, much bigger than their pictures emerged from the blades and started out for the girls directly. Lilith smiled, pressing play on her Ipod. Five low strums of a bass guitar rang out before the sound of an electric sprang in to join with seven of its own strums in quick intervals. The bass continued with its low note and the two bits stopped. A second electric joined the sounds in a steady rise of sound as the song built up, all within the first 10 seconds of the battle. Lilith snapped and Layla tapped her finger against the chains on the swing, a subtle hint to their bits. Without a second of passing time, the two bit beasts emerged, the large, but gorgeous Liger leaping from his blade in a flurry of snow, many of the rose bushes freezing solidly. The second brought a wisp of wind, carrying the pleasantries of spring, the warmth and soft smell of sunshine and flowers.

"You two just don't know what you're doing!" The woman quickly called, before she stopped and truly listened to the music. It'd built up completely, gained some drums and was just about ready. "What the hell?" Her eyes searched out the Ipod, finding it in Liliths hand. Lilith stared at the woman, a cold smile gracing her lips as the words began.  
><em>No, is a dirty word,<em>  
><em>never gonna say it first,<em>  
><em>no is just the thought that never crosses my mind.<em>

The woman froze as Craven shook his head and clawed slightly at his ears. "What the hell! This should be illegal! You can't hurt my bit like this, it has to come from your bit!" She screamed and Lilith laughed under her breath. "It is." Her voice was barely audible to the other side, but they all knew exactly what she'd said. Haruki looked to Syren, who, when looked at carefully, had its mouth open ever so slightly. She concentrated and listened beyond the music that rang out, hearing the ever so soft, high pitched note that was encircling the room.

"My "tweety bird" is much stronger than your Teddy Bear, old woman." Lilith said, rolling her left hand in a sort of nonchalant way of waving Craven off. "And not just in body, but mind too." A cruel smile touched her lips as the woman stared at her. Kai looked out at the two bits, the large, brown bear covered in silver swirls was romping around, unable to reach the graceful Syren, still thrown off by the sound. He stopped and found himself truly taking in the magnificent creature, his eyes racing around to every feature. Now in its full glory, Syren had a wingspan a little smaller than Dranzers, about 7.5 metres (about 25 feet) long. Its flight was eased and graceful.

_'Just like the way Lilith walks'_ Kai thought, watching the bear jump up and down while running in a futile attempt to catch the beautiful bit beast. After a moment he drew his eyes to the opposite side of the arena, to the Elephant and Liger. The sight wasn't as pretty as Syren, as the elephant, Bruiser, was already bleeding from the huge chunk of missing flesh on his leg. The Liger, Rasputin, was holding the chunk of wrinkled hide in his mouth while being held tightly by one of the elephants trunks.

"Rasputin!" Layla called out, and Kai watched as the beast looked towards his mistress. "Frost Bite!" Dropping the chunk of flesh, Rasputin turned his attention to Bruiser, and the young man could see the contemplation in the beasts golden eyes as he thought of his next move. Bruiser lifted his trunk up and began to bring it down, making Kai almost want to look away, but before the trunk with the Liger in it could hit the ground, it stopped. Even though the elephants hide was black, the BladeBreakers could clearly see the blue-ish black tinge that crawled quickly up the trunk.

"What the hell?" The man yelled as the tinge ran up the trunk and to its base with the tusks. Having no strength in it left, the elephant dropped the trunk to the ground in a limp fashion, unable to keep his grip on Rasputin. The beautiful cat slid with ease from the motionless extremity and flicked its long, thin tail back and forth. With very little effort, the Liger ripped the trunk from the Elephants body and threw it aside, allowing Kai to truly take in how enormous the size of the room was.  
><em>S is for the simple need,<em>  
><em>E is for the ecstasy,<em>  
><em>X is just to mark the spot,<em>  
><em>Cause that s the one you really want.<em>

"Craven! Get the cat instead!" Haruki shouted, and the bear turned its attention to Rasputin. It charged with a roar and Lilith smiled. "Come on! Make my kitty purr!" Layla called in an excited voice as she stood up on the swing and rocked back and forth. Kais eyes widened slightly and his gaze drifted over his group of friends. All of them seemed flushed, though Ray was an extraordinary shade of maroon. From the moment Mr. Dickenson had invited them, Kai could tell that Ray had some sort of attraction to one of them, though he didn't quite understand why. His eyes drew back to the battle, which was still raging in an awkward sense. Craven was now having, what appeared to be, a slap fight with Rasputin, Bruiser was still in shock from losing a trunk, and Syren was simply hovering off to the side, watching. After a few moments, Rasputin shoved Craven back and got back on all fours, as opposed to standing on two like he'd just been. As the bear came charging back towards the cat, its feet lifted off the ground, its scruff beginning to bleed as it was hefted with ease off the ground. Kai held his breath as he watched the magnificent bird hold tightly to the bear and fly upwards in the room that could have been as tall as the mountain itself. The higher they went, the more his heart pounded, until finally, Syren began to dive back down. Its wings tucked in, its eyes closed, the bear still held tightly in its grip.

"You're insane! Your bit will get hurt too!" The woman screamed and Lilith simply smiled and held her hand up. When Syren got the where she wanted it, Lilith snapped her fingers and the bird stretched its wings and caught itself before gracefully floating mere feet from the ground. The bear, however, wasn't as lucky, for Syren had let it go before opening its wings and it had crashed full speed into the ground. Just about the whole room shook with the force of the hit and Craven didn't move from its hole in the ground when the smoke cleared. "Craven!" The woman shrieked and Kai looked to Lilith. He was surprised to see that she wasn't smiling, in fact, she had made her face completely stoic, just like when she'd first arrived the night before. Lilith looked to Layla, their eyes meeting, and Layla nodded.

"Take down the over grown ass!" She shouted, without warning. Rasputin was gone in the blink of an eye and before Kai caught sight of him again, he'd already latched himself on to Bruisers neck, sinking his long fangs into the thick hide every time the elephant struggled, which was every move he made. Kai listened carefully over the elephants screams of pain and fear to the music as it wound down from the wail of an electric solo and the lead singer screaming to a softer version of the main chorus.  
><em> Sex is always the answer, it's never a question,<em>  
><em>Cause the answers yes,<em>  
><em>Oh the answers (yes)<em>  
><em>Not just a suggestion,<em>  
><em>If you ask the question,<em>  
><em>Than its always yes,<em>  
><em>Yes!<em>

As the song picked back up again, the elephant fell, and his heart skipped a beat. The scene could have been from some sort of horror movie, the elephants limp, dead body heaped in a pile of wrinkled blue-ish black flesh. A scream sounded out in the room and echoed off the walls. The woman across the way had been lifted into the air and now dangled from Syrens weak, bored grip as the beautiful creature lifted her higher and higher. A second scream alerted his attention, as well as the loud, but low, growl that came from the other side. The man had fallen backwards off the swing and crawled his way to the wall, where Rasputin had him pinned. With the Liger standing above him, fangs bared, the man had very obviously wet himself in terror. Kai couldn't move, he couldn't speak, for this was a new kind of rush, a sort of fear he'd yet to feel in his life. Would they be murderers? He looked at Lilith and Layla and almost shivered, as both now simply sat there, stoic appearances, their eyes distant.

"What the hell are they doing, Mr. Dickenson? Stop them!" Tyson shouted, standing up and motioning towards the girls. Max stood as well, voicing more complaints, but Ray and Kai stayed seated.

"Hey Kai, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ray asked, looking towards the others on the opposing side. None of the other players at the table across the way had moved, they all simply sat there and watched, though one did stand, and another had covered his mouth and begun to cry. "I think they knew this would happen, you know? Like prepared themselves for this sort of thing."

"That's exactly what it is, Ray." Mr. Dickenson said, quelling Tyson and Max's raving for the moment. "You see, when they signed up for this sort of bay battling, they signed an agreement saying that they understood the risks they were taking and that the BBA had nothing to do with it should they be injured or killed. They take this risk for themselves, and many people have died. A lot of these people used to blade like you, and those who moved from that version to this one call it, "going back in time"." They all looked out as the man screamed again and Syren stopped at the ceiling to do another dive. Lilith's "Painting the Roses Red" and Layla's "Frost Bite" are two of the worst attacks this game has ever seen. Their simplicity makes people under estimate them and go easy on them. Before they know it, they're bit has lost limbs, as Bruiser did, or just generally lost its life, as Craver did." He pointed to the two limp, dead bit beasts that lay on the ground. "If, after the death of the bit beast, the players haven't forfeited, the opposing team has the right to attack them directly. The time is decided by the opposing players, of course. In this case, the opposing players are Layla and Lilith. Lilith, however, has yet to tell Syren what to do, which explains why that woman isn't dead yet." He pointed up to where the bird hovered high in the air, the woman still in its clutches, and this time, unconscious.

"How do they forfeit, do they just say that they give up? Beg for their lives? How can she say anything if she's not even awake! Mr. Dickenson, this isn't fair!" Tyson screamed, starting towards Lilith and Layla. He stopped, however, when he noticed Kai already half way there, Ray on his heels. Ray ran around towards Layla as Kai stopped next to Lilith and grabbed her hand. His royal eyes met her icy ones and his heart skipped.

A shiver ran down Liliths spine as she met his gaze and she closed her eyes. Turning her attention to the man on the floor, she snapped her fingers and Layla held up her hand. They turned and looked at each other, still lacking in obvious emotion. "To stop and ask, we've never done that before." Layla said blandly and Lilith nodded.

"There is always a first for everything." Turning her attention back to the man, she licked her lips, her throat suddenly getting dry at the words she hadn't even uttered once in her battling career. "Do you wish to forfeit the match and live? Or die as you are? To forfeit means to lose your hard earned Honor, however, it also means to live." Rasputin having stopped, the man peered cautiously around the beast and began to wept.

"You mean...you're giving us a chance?" He sobbed as he stared at her. Reluctantly, Lilith nodded, and then Layla. "I forfeit! WE forfeit!" He cried, crossing his arms over his chest. His entire body was shaking, a detail Lilith had never noticed before in all the times she'd done this. The large screen on the wall flashed white and showed the Demon Daughters symbol just above the word "Winners". Syren slowly drifted back down and placed the unconscious woman on the ground in front of the swings, before flying back to Lilith and her blade. Rasputin hesitated, obviously thrown off by ending the battle without killing the human, or at least inflicting some harm, but he returned to Layla none the less.

"The battle is over." Said the electronic voice. "The victory goes to the Demon Daughters, the loss goes to the Blazers. 50 points has been deducted from the Blazers, The Demon Daughters keep their perfect Honor." The screen flashed again, showing the Demon Daughters Honor points and then it went black. The Blazers picked up Haruki and slowly walked from the arena, heads hung in shame. As they were leaving, Kai heard the team members who'd sat on the side lines tell Suzuki that he should have just died to keep their Honor up.

"Do you want to fight another battle, Lilith?" Mr. Dickenson said, walking up with Max and Tyson. Lilith stood wordlessly and sighed, looking into Kais eyes. They held each others gazes for a moment, their hearts beginning to pound, and blood starting to boil. She could feel her body heating up, which wasn't like her, but, for a moment, she felt as though she wouldn't be able to look away. Snapping herself out of it, she turned on her expensive heels and headed for the door.

"Mr. Dickenson, I want to explore this little town for a while. Just a few days. No battles until two days have passed. I'm giving the Demon Daughters four days to take over Japan, or we leave as a failure to our name. In these two days of our silenced peace, I want to see what this place has to offer." Turning back around, she smiled sweetly, and Kai couldn't help but think about how good the sincere smile looked on her. "I want to fall in love with something other than the city of love itself."

So, as you can tell, this has been the LONGEST chapter I've made so far, ranking up about a thousand more words than the other two chapters. I hope you enjoyed it, and remember, I'm always willing to answer any questions you ask me.


	4. Shop 'Til You Drop

**Chapter 4: Shop 'Til You Drop**

A knock sounded on the door, hitting Layla like the sound of a bomb. Jumping to her feet in a reflex of defense, it took the red head a moment to actually wake up from her deep slumber. Another knock echoed in shortly after and she ran out of the room, grabbing her long, fuzzy blue bathrobe on her way. Running to the door, she swung it open and stared out at the two young men that waited. Neither was surprised this time, and instead simply stared at her. She blinked her eyes a bit until they adjusted and realized it was Kai and Ray, and she was standing there in nothing but her underwear and a bathrobe. Slamming the door closed, she leaned against it in fear and embarrassment. "Damn it! Why couldn't Lilith have gotten up? She's not afraid of these situations!" She said loudly, as she ran towards the room for a quick change of clothes. "Nor does she have anything to be afraid of." She whimpered as she looked back at her small butt, the one thing about herself she hated the most, since it was off balance, being small, while her breasts were far from. With an exasperated sigh, she threw on some pants and a plain black tank top, and raced back out to the door. Swinging it back open, she smiled sweetly and motioned for them to come in.

"There's only two of you this time." She said as she closed the door and walked behind them. The dual haired one looked back at her for a moment, then back in front. Ray, on the other hand, looked back at her and smiled.

"Well, Tyson and Max had other things to do today. Max went to greet his mom at the airport, and Tyson said something about his grandpa killing him if he left. So today, it's just us who came to show you guys around." His sweet smile sparkled and Layla smiled back. Kai, thoroughly over this lovey-dovey atmosphere looked around the apartment and looked back at Layla.

"Where's Lilith?" He asked suddenly, snapping Layla out of, what appeared to be, some sort of day dream. Just as she was about to speak, a door behind them opened and Lilith emerged starkly. Ray instantly turned his back to her, but Kai, who had already had his back to her, turned to look. After a few shocked, stiffened moments, the young man turned around as red as physically possible.

"Lilith! This isn't Paris, you can't just walk out like that! Go put clothes on!" Layla screamed, running past the men and beginning to push the blond back to her room.

"But Layla, you need to help me choose my clothes for today! I can t decide between the blue and gold maxi, or the silver and red cowl neck sweater dress." Lilith whined, a very uncharacteristic sound for the serious young woman to make. Layla sighed and dragged her into the room. After a few moments, the Russian returned, and smiled at them.

"She'll be out soon," She said, then looked back at the bedroom door with apprehension. "Hopefully. In the mean time, do you guys want something? Tea, soda, vodka?" She questioned, heading in the direction of the kitchen, but both men shook their heads and told her they were perfectly fine. Finally, the bedroom door opened and a fixed up Lilith walked out. Her hair having been done up in to neatly flowing curls, she wore a simple pair of blue jeans and a lowly V-necked white sweater, a good color to soften her abnormally colored ice blue eyes. Her make up was done, and she carried a pair of white fuzzy boots that had, at least, a six inch heel.

"Wow, she pulls herself together fast." Ray murmured to Kai and Layla smiled. "Well...um...we should get going if we're gonna really take in the city. Neither of us are truly natives of this area, but we've been living here and coming back and forth for a long time now." Layla smiled at Ray sweetly. Lilith watched as her friend practically undressed the young man with her eyes and sighed.

"We should get going." Said the deep, luxurious voice of the dual haired man. "We have a lot of places to see, and sitting around here flirting," He paused for a moment to throw Ray a glare that made him blush and look away. "Isn't going to get us there." His royal gaze landed on Liliths icy eyes and a slight pink flush rolled over her cheeks. "So in that light, where do you want to go first?" He asked and Lilith smiled momentarily as her heart fluttered with excitement and anticipation.

"Well I was honestly thinking about any l-" Before Lilith could finish, Layla chimed in with a loud voice as she jumped on Lilith and tugged on her arm.  
>"Shopping! Please Lilith, oh please, please, please? What's the point of coming with thirty thousand dollars if you're not willing to let me spend it?" She screamed, running around in circles. Deflating, Lilith watched Layla bounce around like a squirrel on crack.<p>

"Don't you do enough shopping at my house? Could anything compare to Paris high styled fashion and grace?" Layla stopped and contemplated while Lilith sighed and thought about the proposition. Finally, Lilith decided. "Fine, we can go shopping," She started, and Layla perked up, racing to Liliths side and jumping up and down. "But I want to see what the traditional style for Japan is with my own two eyes. I take a piece of where ever I've been home with me, and I even own my own full set, Victorian aged gown, complete with corset. I'm not about to miss out on the chance to actually get myself a piece of this culture. As a collector,"

"Yeah, yeah, collecting cultures, whatever, let's just go!" Layla screamed, pulling her towards the door. Lilith smiled for a moment before taking in Laylas attire. Firmly planting her feet on the ground she brought them both to a quick stop.

"I'm not going out in public with you like that! If you think that's acceptable for going shopping, you're sorely mistaken! The store clerks will take one look at you and the amount of money you'll be shoveling out and call the police!" Layla stopped and looked down, then stuck her lip out in a pout. "Go change, now!" Lilith demanded, and the red head begrudgingly did as she was ordered. Ray and Kai both stared in slight shock and fear as the blond team captain made her demands and her team mate did as she was told. They all sat down on the couch while Lilith put her shoes on. The stilettos were most certainly, high fashion, with lacing in the back and fur trim rounding the top and lining down the sides and to the front. The two puff balls that had been strung up in the front dangled gracefully as she put her feet down and adjusted the shoes properly to her feet. Layla came walking out moments later, as though the two had timing all pegged out.

Kai absently looked towards his friend as the girls giggled about going shopping while Layla put her boots on. He took in Rays obvious interest, and how every emotion he had showed on his face like a neon yellow house. Kai drew his eyes, out of pure curiosity, to the young woman across the way. He felt his face get hot as he realized why Ray couldn't look away. Layla was wearing a pastel purple dress that stopped at her thighs. Its squared neck was decent, but not when she was leaning over to put on her thigh high boots and the two boys could see every detail of her lacy white bra. As she tugged the boots in to place, she put her leg up and off to the side a bit, allowing her dress to slide up a bit and giving the two men a shot at her lacy white thong, a perfect match to her bra. Forcing himself to look away, Kai looked to Lilith, who was now standing at the bar checking her touch screen smart phone. Losing himself a bit, Kai allowed his eyes to wander her body, the silver vines on the back pocket of her jeans catching his attention. Realizing what he was doing he looked towards the floor and hid his face in his hands to avoid the others seeing his heated cheeks.  
><em>'Whenever I'm with her, I lose control of myself. I can't help but stare in her direction.' Looking back to her, he bit the inside of his lip. 'Is it because her air commands attention in a room? Or maybe it's the way her eyes see right through me.'<em> Kai recalled what she'd yelled at him the first time they'd met and a shiver ran down his spine. Shaking off the feeling, he stood and looked at the two girls, who were done getting ready and were simply chatting amongst themselves. "If we're going, let's go." They all stared at him for a moment, but Ray smiled and stood up calmly. The china man was followed by the girls and they all finally left the house about an hour or so after the boys had arrived.

Moments after arriving at the shopping center, the boys were dragged to some of the most expensive stores there, which made Ray feel thoroughly pathetic. After three hours, they all finally stopped to rest at a bench inside the shopping centers boundaries, the four of them taking over the bench completely and surrounding it in large bags. "Okay," Lilith breathed. "That was fun. I needed some light shopping to take my mind off of this entire trip." Both men looked in her direction with astonishment. Layla looked to the two and thought for moment before speaking.

"Ray, you work hard for the money you earn, right?" The sudden question made the young male jump a bit and look at the red head cautiously. "I can tell because when we were in the shops, you would cringe every time the cashier rang us up." Layla giggled a bit and leaned back. "It's not like we don't work for our money. Hell, Lilith is practically a fucking workaholic. And it took me forever to convince my father that I was enough to take over the company. Russian men just don't understand a woman's power and control." She leaned back and started waving her arms around wildly as she talked. "I mean, he actually told me he wanted me to just get married and have kids, and that's it! He made me learn to sew and cook and clean thing properly. Talk about boring! If I'd have learned all of those things on my own by going out into the world, I'd feel better about knowing them!" Layla continued her ranting chat with Ray, the boy hardly talking before she raved on. Kai, on the other hand, heard none of it, his focus being centered on Lilith, who was watching Layla with a soft smile.

"So, how did you and Layla meet, exactly?" He questioned, relaxing in the bench a bit. Lilith looked towards him and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Layla jumped up and started picking up her bags.

"Lets get going! We still haven't found us a shop with authentic Japanese clothing!" Layla squealed as she started off next to Ray. Kai and Lilith stood, and she began picking up her many bags. He stopped her before she could get them all and picked up the rest for her, their eyes meeting with softness. She smiled slightly and mouthed a thank you to him, her face flushing slightly and he sucked his breath in. As they walked along, several paces behind Layla and Ray, Lilith looked absently at the shops.

"We met through our fathers." Lilith stated softly, and Kai looked at her. She was staring after Layla with the fondness he'd only seen in siblings. "My father owns VibraTech, the company that makes most of the Bey stadiums you see now a days. Her father owns Shikra Co., which specializes in launchers." Kai thought for a moment and remembered the two names. They were two of the largest companies in the world, grossing profits of over five billion in sales each year, and both worked closely with the BBA. "They were working on a new design for a ground launching stadium, like the one you saw yesterday at the match. They agreed that they needed to work together, since they needed to incorporate more than just what they know, but what the other knows as well. My father used to bring me to work with him, afraid I'd get in trouble if he didn't. I'd sit close by while he worked and do my homework that my tutor gave me." She smiled a genuine smile, which made Kais heart almost stop with pleasure. He could feel his face getting hot and he looked away, pretending to look in a shop window. "I remember meeting her for the first time. It was when our fathers announced to the world that they'd be partnering up and allying themselves as companies. We were required to come and stand there while they signed the contracts, just to say that we supported them. I remember that her nanny had put her in this god awful lime green dress, and I was not having it. I traded dresses with her before the signing cause I looked better in lime green than she did and I'd been wearing blue. I still think it was one of my better ideas." With that, Kai couldn't hold back his smile. He also couldn't help but stare at her. He liked the way her hair bounced ever so slightly when she walked, and how each slow stride she made caused her body to sway in an enticing way.

"When was that?" He asked curiously, looking after the red head, who was now bouncing up and down as she walked, laughing and smiling at whatever their conversation was about.

"Eight years ago." The answer shocked him a bit, since he'd expected a bigger number. "We've been inseparable ever since. Sure, we have our fights, but we always make up in the end. There are times when I'm wrong and she's right, and visa versa, but we always manage to admit our mistakes when we realize what we could be losing." His heart skipped a beat as his mind drifted into the past and he remembered this first time he'd betrayed Tyson and the others. He'd realized he was wrong at the last moment possible and he almost lost his best friends, his family. He pushed back the feeling that welled in him that he'd pushed back for years. The constant tears that welled up in him when he thought about how much his friends truly cared for him.

"I know that feeling. Tyson's an idiot, Daichi's even worse, Hilary can't do anything right, Kenny's under appreciated, Max is just strange in general, and Ray's more naive than he looks. But," He paused and smiled as he watched Ray laughing with Layla. "Honestly without them, I'd be dead by now. Literally. In a way, I really have to thank Carlos for losing when he did."

"Carlos?" Liliths interest peeked through at the name and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "What did Carlos' loss have to do with you?"

"He was a crony of mine, really, back before I met Tyson. He met Tyson first, but he lost by a large margin. He didn't stand a chance against him." Lilith listened as Kai spoke fondly of Tyson, the one she'd remembered as being annoying and always under dressed.  
>"So where was Ray when all of this happened?" She asked, her eyes back on the two in front of them. He smiled and sighed, drawing her attention back to him.<br>"We met Ray in the semi-finals of the regional match here in Bay City. Mr. Dickenson brought him all the way from China just so that he could fight against Tyson, Max, or myself. Some how, along the way, before our regional match, Tyson picked up Max, and before we met for the first time, he'd already picked up Kenny."

"So Ray did he win, or lose that match against Tyson?" She questioned, now fully attuned to him only. He relaxed and let himself go, smiling at the thought.

"No, he won in the first round and dropped out after the second. Ray won the first match, but Tyson won the second. Ray said he didn't stack up against him and forfeited the third match all together." He smiled at the memory he'd always neglected to truly think about.

"So you faced Tyson in the end, didn't you." She asked with a smile, leaning towards him slightly.

"Don't get me wrong, beating Max wasn't as easy as I'd first thought, after he got Draciel. But facing Tyson in the end well, I guess you could say that Tyson knocked me off my feet." He chuckled a bit at the reference to his and Tyson's battle, in which Tyson's Storm Attack had literally blown him backwards into the cage. "I'd been cocky, having already been a champion. Tyson's never been that much of a push over, and I'm glad I battled him."

"It sounds like you really care for him. As though he's gotten you out of some bad things before." Lilith said as they stopped in front of a shop that Layla had run into, dragging Ray in toe. "You must really care for him."

"I do. I care for all of them." Kai froze as he realized what he'd been saying for the past few minutes. "You can't tell any of this to any of them, got it." He said threateningly, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Because it would ruin your tough guy image if your friends actually knew that you loved them?" She giggled and looked through the shop window at Layla and Ray. She thought about what Kai had said and sighed. "It can t be helped. I won't tell...but..." She paused to turn and face him, crossing her arms under her breasts and relaxing her body. "You have to take me out on a date." Kais eyes nearly popped out of his head as his heart dropped into his stomach.

"What?" He asked, unable to hide the sheer shock that covered his face. If she'd asked for money, fine, a bey battle, sure, but a date? He stared at her for a moment, looking her directly in the eyes. He saw nothing but honesty and sucked in his breath silently. _'She means it! She actually wants me to take her out on a date! But why a date?'_ He stared at her for a moment, a part of him relishing the closeness between them. "Fine." He said after a few moments and she smiled.

"I don't know what it is about you," She said softly as she turned away from him and started walking again after Layla and Ray came out of the shop with more bags and started off again. "But I feel like I can be myself with you." She admitted, starting off after the two. Kai watched her walk for a moment as a slight smile touched his lips.

"Like wise." He murmured to himself as he trotted after her and the others. When they finally caught up, Layla admitted that she hadn't even noticed their absence. After shopping for almost six hours, stopping only for lunch in between, they went back to the temporary home, all of them dropping their bodies on the two couches that faced each other in the living room.

"I don't think I've ever walked for that long just to shop." Ray huffed, sliding down the back of the couch and laying his head on Kais shoulder. "Let's not do that again for a while." Layla jumped up with exuberance.

"Are you kidding me? That was only the beginning, I won't be done for a long time!" Her body shook slightly and Lilith sighed.

"You're stuck, aren't you?" She asked calmly and Layla bit her lip. "Oh my god. You're done. No more." She said, leaning forward and pulling the stiffened red head down to the comfort of the cushions. Pulling on the laces of her shoes, Lilith took the six inch heels off and exhaled slowly. "Now I'm happy I have my own jet to take all this home on, but I have to figure out where in my small apartment it's gonna go, exactly." She rolled her head back and a few loud pops were heard as her body relaxed and popped back into place.

"Just buy a bigger apartment." Layla said simply, flopping to the side and laying on Liliths lap.

"Um..nooo." Lilith said awkwardly. "That one is the closest I can get to the office without actually having any of my privacy opened up to the world. To get any closer, I'd have to put an apartment above the office itself!"

"So why not move a bit away from it, then? Get out of the city, and move into the suburbs!" Layla shouted as she stood and started grabbing her bags and taking them to the back room. Lilith sighed and thought about the proposal. "If you pick a suburb close to the city, then you could just shorten your work hours a bit and drive back and forth in that pretty new Ferrari Spider I saw in your garage on the way up, last time. Is that the latest? I haven't seen that one yet. Can I drive it when we get back home?" Layla said as she came back from the room to grab more bags.

"It's a custom, so you may NOT drive it ever!" Lilith said, jumping to her feet and grabbing bags. "That thing cost more than my summer get away home. And definitely more than an entire months worth of shopping for us. I busted my ass to keep hold of that money, you know." Layla shrugged and smiled.

"Those types of cars get sucky gas mileage anyways. To that, Lilith rolled her eyes.

"It s a custom. I had it converted into a hybrid. It gets better mileage than you think." Laylas head shot around to look at Lilith, her eyes wide. "No, you may not steal my custom car, nor the plans for my custom car. Go make your own." The blond said superiorly and Layla pouted, cursing under her breath. Looking at his watch Ray jumped up after looking at the time.

"We have to go!" He shouted, making the girls jump and stare his direction. "Come on, Kai! If we're late, who knows what Kenny will do to us! Bye girls!" He said as he dashed out the door. Kai looked at Lilith, meeting her gaze.

"Tomorrow, eight o'clock. I'll pick you up here. Be ready." Kais deep voice made her shiver and she smiled. With a nod from her, he turned and left the apartment, leaving the girls to chat about god knows what.


	5. The Heart's Desire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bey Blade, nor any of the characters, except for Layla and Lilith. I am not making money off of this story.

**Chapter 5:The Heart's Desire**

The soft, sweet sound of piano played through out the decently sized bathroom. Lilith walked up to the mirror and stared at the woman in front of her. _'Is this wrong of me?'_ She thought, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face. _'I feel like I'm going to regret this night. Not because I'll do anything bad, but...'_ She breathed in deeply as she tried to quell the beating of her heart. _'I cannot fall for this man! I just can't! I have to go back to Paris and...'_ Her heart began to hurt and she put a hand against her bare chest. _'I asked for this date. It's just a date, it's not a crime. I'm not selling my soul.'_ She told herself, shaking her head and grabbing her make up kit. She played with her hair a bit, but decided to simply leave it down this time. Lilith looked through her make up, trying to decide which look she should take. _'Soft. It should be soft.'_ She thought, pulling out her white and pairing it with a soft aqua, the colors matching the dress she'd picked out to wear. Looking back at the simple, but stunning dress, she smiled. It was a strapless aqua dress that came down to the knees with a corset tie in the back. She'd paired it with a white mink shrug and a pair of knee high stilettos, similar to the boots she'd worn the other day, only without the puff balls. Finishing her make up with a soft pink lip color, she slid into the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. _'I wonder if he'll like this.'_ She bit her lip absently, being sure not to mess up her make up or get any lip stick on her teeth.

"Lilith! Kai is here for you!" Layla called in a not so subtle why of teasing her for going out. Her heart almost stopped as she grabbed her shrug and pulled her shoes on. Before leaving, she looked back at the woman in the mirror and took a deep breath. "Here we go." She murmured and raced out of the bathroom. Composing herself in the bedroom, she walked out into the living room calmly and smiled. Her eyes were drawn to him instantly and she felt her face get hot. He stood in front of Layla in a simple ensemble of a nice pair of dark blue jeans, a nice blue shirt, and a fine leather jacket. Her icy gaze met his royal one and she smiled.

"Shall we go?" He asked calmly, and she nodded. As they left, she looked back at Layla, who gave her a thumbs up and returned to her video games. The door closed and Lilith couldn't help but feel a tinge of anxiety. She looked next to her at him and smiled.

"So, where are we going?" She asked casually, attempting to make a conversation. He stayed silent for a moment, though it seemed more like a decade to her.

"It's a surprise." Was all he said and her heart jumped. Biting the inside of her lip, they got to the car. She was surprised to see that the vehicle was a foreign car she didn't recognize. He went to the passenger side and opened the door for her, which was another nice thing she hadn't expected. Sliding her body into the cars soft leather seats, she felt a rush roll through her, an excitement she hadn't felt with any other guy. Taking a deep breath, she watched him walk around the car to the drivers side and get in. Before starting the car, he reached into the center console and pulled out a blind fold. "Put this on." Staring at the strip of fabric, she thought about what it could mean.

_'I've never done this on a date before.'_ She thought, a slight interest peeking in her. Taking the blind fold, she put it over her eyes and he helped her tie it in the back. Moments later, she felt the car start, its soft rumble trembling through her. She could feel her excitement building, a sexual rise boiling inside her lower body. With a slight jerk, she felt the car begin to move, a very different sensation. After what felt like an eternity to her, he spoke, the feeling heightened because of the blind fold, making his whispering in her ear twice as enticing.

"How am I doing so far?" His deep voice rolled through her like a shot of good vodka, it burned her, churned her stomach, and made her light headed all at once. She didn't respond, afraid he was simply playing with her and knew he was doing well. Holding her tongue for what had to be, at least, thirty minutes she finally felt the car jerk softly to a stop. She heard him get out and reached for the blind fold. "Not yet." He whispered to her as he opened her door and took her hand. Gripping his hand, she got out and stood where ever he lead her. She heard him close the car door and felt his large hand slide back into hers. With a gentle tug, he lead her on. She didn't hear any people, no chatting teens or business men, no lovers whispering sweet nothings to each other. All she heard was the peaceful silence of the two of them walking. She felt gravel underneath her heels, and smelled the soft, welcome sent of nature. "Before, when I asked where you wanted to go, you were going to say landmarks, right?" She smiled at his knowledge and nodded. "Bay City is known for its Bey stadiums, players, and genuine martial arts dojos, however, I didn't think taking you to the dojo was very good date material, so I brought you to Bay City's lesser known landmark." He spoke as they walked, and when he paused, he untied the blind fold. She felt her chest tighten and her breath escape her at the sight. They stood on a traditional Japanese bridge over a small stream that ran lovingly through a stunning Japanese garden that was covered in snow. "They call this the Garden of Eternity, since, legend says that to smell even one of the flowers in this garden will make your love last an eternity." She was surprised to here the words he spoke come out of his mouth, since she'd never taken him for the truly romantic type.

"So is it only the love you have at the time, or is it having to do with the love of your life?" She asked with a smile, walking down the bridge and towards the frozen plants.

"Its supposed to make the love you are in at the time the love of your life. Some people come from other cities just to smell one of the flowers here in the spring. I know it does you no good right now, in the middle of winter." He said as he followed her down to the ice covered plants.

"Can you still smell a flower in the middle of the winter?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him and smiling. He walked up behind her as she stared at the plants and put his hands on her shoulders. Leaning in and whispering in her ear, he smiled.

"Of course you can, but is the love you're in now worth savoring?" She chuckled softly and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Everyone knows about La Tour D'Eiffel , and there are so many little sayings surrounding it. They say if you're proposed to at its top, the love will last forever, even though the tower wasn't built for love at all." Lilith turned and looked at Kai, a soft smile on her face.

"If not for love, then why was the tower built?" He wasn't one for the more random information like Kenny, he preferred things he knew, or thought he would use in the future. She sighed a bit and looked around the garden.

"It was built as an entrance arch for the World Fair held in 1889, by Gustave Eiffel." She walked back to the bridge and leaned her elbows on the railing, sitting her chin on her hands and watching the small snow flakes fall into the slow running stream. "Pas pour l'amour du tout." She murmured and he stared at her for a moment. He didn't know French, but he recognized certain common words that most of the world recognized, such as l'amour which meant "the love". He walked up beside her and thought for a moment about how she'd spoken to him the entire time. He could hear it, her French accent, even if it was very slight. Very rarely had he encountered that particular accent, and he was fairly sure the last time had been with Oliver, from the Majestic's. Lilith looked over at him as he thought and her heart pounded in her chest. "Um...d-did you know that...La Tour D'Eiffel is the largest building in Paris?" She was slipping, and turning in to the geek she knew she was. Certain random facts entertained her, and the only ones she could think of now seemed to be the ones about home. _'Oh god! Something else! Please, brain, think of something else!'_ She screamed, mentally flailing in an attempt to change the subject.

"Have you ever been to it?" His lustrous voice froze her thoughts and she looked back up at him. He smiled at the clueless look on her face. "The Eiffel Tower, I mean."

"Been to La dame de fer?" He nodded slowly and she smiled. "My apartment is only a few blocks away from it. I can go whenever I like." She smiled and played with her fingers. "At night, when the tower is lit up, that's when it's at its prettiest.' He watched as her eyes grew distant and sad. "My mother used to say, that the tower was a symbol of hope for love to many people. That, if it were to ever disappear, numerous people would be lost, and the whole world would be crushed. So I've tried to stay near the tower as best as I can.' He smiled as he remembered the day before.

"That's why the thought of moving to a suburb bothered you the other day." She jumped and looked up at him. He simply smiled at her softly. _'He noticed that? Was he...has he been watching me since we met?'_ She bit her lip and looked away. Taking a deep breath she smiled and looked back at him.

"Should we get something to eat?" She suggested, and he nodded and smiled in return. They walked back down the path and to the car. She stood in front of the door and he leaned in close to her to open it. A breeze blew just right and she breathed in the soft smell of his masculine musk, a unique smell every man had. Biting her lip again, she slid into the seat of the car and breathed in deeply. She hadn't noticed it before, but the car smelled just like him, a mixture of certain scents she couldn't help but adore together. She could smell spiced apples, not uncommon for this time of year, but a very warm and sweet scent for a man to have. Running her fingers through her hair as he climbed in, she breathed in deeply, silently once again. When he stuck the key in the ignition, she closed her eyes and allowed the rumble to roll through her body, the low vibration of the car to reach her very core. Opening her eyes, she looked over at him as they set out. His face was completely stoic, concentrating on his driving rather than anything else, and that gave her the opportunity to take in his every detail. The man was in perfect shape, and it appeared to her as though every single part of him had been chiseled out by god himself. His arms were buff, but they weren't huge, it was obvious to anyone who saw him that he had perfect washboard abs, and even his legs showed the perfect signs of being physically fit. _'Being that perfect in body, he'd probably make a great lover.'_ She thought to herself just before shaking her head a bit and pushing the thought away. She relaxed in her seat and closed her eyes again.

* * *

><p>Lilith looked around the unfamiliar part of the familiar house. "So, he wasn't lying, it really was your party." She mumbled under her breath and Kai turned to look back at her questioningly. She smiled wryly and laughed awkwardly. "No, it's nothing." She looked back down as he led her by the hand through the mansions grand hallways. She stared down at her small hand that was wrapped in his much larger one. His hands were warm, and rough, and she wondered if there might've been a deeper meaning to their differences. She lifted her gaze to his back and bit her lip at how lovely it seemed. His broad shoulders practically begged her to touch them and she wondered what it would feel like to drag her nails across his light, cream colored flesh. They finally came to a room and he stopped at the door. He looked back at her and their gazes met, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. She smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. "So, what are you going to surprise me with now?" She said with a smile and the slight cocking of her head.<p>

"I guess that depends on how you want to be surprised." He pushed the doors open to a smaller sized dinning room and she smiled. "Don't worry, this is only the third one." He said as he let her walk in through the door before him. The room was still a good size, having a single table that seated ten, four on each side and the two ends, and two separate china cabinets on either side of the room behind the four side seats. There was still enough room for people to walk in between the seats while others sat in them with leisure, however, which made her wonder what this room was typically used for. He walked around her to one side and pulled the chair out, but as he'd passed, she'd gotten another whiff of that wonderful masculine musk of his, which momentarily distracted her. He looked back at her and she simply stared at him, her ice blue eyes staring into his.

Kai could see the longing in her gaze, feel the heat building in his body as she simply watched him. None of it was uncomfortable, but instead it was more arousing than anything he'd ever experienced. _'And I thought the battles would get my blood pumping. I've never felt my heart beat this hard ever.'_ Hesitantly, she walked to the table and stood near him. He stepped back a bit and she moved to sit, brushing against him lightly. As she past, he breathed in the sweet smell of French Vanilla, an ironic scent for her to choose, but an addicting one.

"So who else lives here?" She questioned as he sat down at the opposite side of the table from her. "So much space, you couldn't possibly live here alone." He sighed and simply watched her for a moment. A servant entered through the door opposite the one they'd come in and offered her a menu, to which she politely took and smiled sweetly. He offered one to Kai, but the young man held his hand up and the servant bowed his head and left to give her time to decide.

"I live here alone." He stated simply after a few moments and she looked up from the menu to meet is royal gaze. "This mansion used to be my grandfather's, even though he only used it on the weekends when he came to see me in my youth." She could see mixed feelings, a sense of peace, but a hint of regret and sorrow.

"He's gone now, isn't he?" The words came out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Her eyes widening, she put a hand to her mouth gently and sucked in her breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, I just..." Her words trailed off when he looked at her and smiled. The smile, however, seemed slightly pained, and it made her heart ache for a reason she couldn't place.

"It's alright. In fact, he died a year ago. I flew out to Russia to be with him then." He looked down at his hands as he leaned his elbows against the table and webbed his fingers together in thought. "Despite everything he'd done to me, he was still the only family I had left." He thought about the statement and smiled. "Well...biological family, I guess, is a better way to put it. Tyson, Ray, Max, Kenny, even Hilary and Daichi, they're more like my family than anything else." He laid his chin on his folded hands and closed his eyes. "They always seem to show up when I need them the most. Yeah, we fight some times, but other than that we actually get along pretty well, despite what everybody else thinks." She smiled as the door opened and the servant returned. She told him her order and smiled sweetly at him. _'A fake smile. She does that a lot for people she's trying to hide things from.'_ The servant came to his side of the table and he calmly recited what he wanted in very specific details. When the servant left she looked over at him and mimicked his earlier position, leaning her head on her folded hands.

"So you used to live in Russia? How long have you been in Japan?" She watched intently as he turned and met her head on. Lilith silently sucked in her breath as her body began to heat up beneath his gaze.

"I lived in Russia when I was much younger. It's been almost ten years since I started living here instead of in Moscow." His answer was so straight forward and to the point that it surprised her how honest he was with her. She bit her lip and looked at him warily.

"Why are you so honest with me? Most people wouldn't be so forth coming." As she spoke, the servant returned with their orders, placing the plates in front of them, then the drinks afterward. She watched as the servant left and picked up her glass, sipping at the glittering golden liquid that resided beyond the crystalline rim. He watched her carefully and smiled, picking up his own glass, a thick red liquid pooled at its bottom.

"I simply feel like I can say anything to you. More to the fact, I never took you as the Pinot Grigio type." She jumped a bit and looked up at him, having been staring at the bubbles in her glass.

"Yet, how could I have known you'd be more of a Pinot Noir? I guess we are simply two opposing sides where color and taste is concerned." He smiled at her and she smiled back, the mood in the room softening from the words he'd spoken just moments before. So She began, as she set her glass down, and lightly picked up her utensils. "How many women have you been with?" His eyes widened and he coughed softly, setting his own drink down.

"Such a strange question to ask." He quickly picked up his utensils and put something in his mouth to attempt to avoid answering her question. The action drove her to suppress a laugh as she herself placed something in her mouth, but with a much more delicate prowess. The silence held for a few moments, even after they both had swallowed, until he sucked his breath in silently.

"A few, though Tyson always seems to think it's more than it truly is." His voice held a slight hint of resignation and she smiled.

"Only a few?" He looked across the table at her as she continued eating. He couldn't help but stare at her full lips, wondering whether or not it'd be alright to steal a kiss at the end of the night. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked up at him and saw the longing in his eyes, the desire. She could feel the heat boring into her and the sensations that rolled through her caught her off guard, making her look down in an attempt to hide her flushed cheeks.

"Why don t you smile more?" The comment shocked her and she looked up immediately to meet his gaze.

"W-what?" She stuttered, her head spinning over the words he'd just said.

"When we were with Mr. Dickenson, you didn't want to smile. Especially when you first arrived. Are you always like that, or is it just with him?" She recalled the first night her and Layla had arrived, his party that they'd attended. He'd been just as bad, but he was talking about her. About how she'd refused to smile, or show any other emotion, until he'd insulted Layla and walked off. She thought for a moment about how it had happened and her eyes widened.

"You did it on purpose." She all but whispered. "You insulted Layla to get me to break, didn't you?" This time, her voice was much louder and a smile touched his lips.

"I recognized the look in your eyes the moment I saw you in the hall." He smiled as he stood up and walked towards her slowly, each step precise. "It was something I used to do a long time ago. Before I realized how much the Blade Breakers, Ray, Tyson, Max, Kenny, meant to me. How much I truly cared for them." He reached her side and looked down at her. "You're missing something, and it shows all over you." She looked up at him, wanting to be mad, but unable to be so.

"And what, exactly, am I missing?" She said the words slowly, to be sure she didn't mess them up. He cocked his head to the side, as though assessing her and her question to its fullest, trying to think of something she lacked.

"Love." He answered simply. "Pure, honest love. It's the only thing I don't see in you." He thought for a moment and then smiled down at her.

"Well...outwardly, anyways." He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek softly before walking back to his side of the table. She looked down the rest of the night, unable to rid herself of the deep red blush that covered her cheeks. Her body had grown hot at just the slightest touch from him, and it was something she wasn't used to. They finished their meal in silence, a silence she was thankful for. As the servant came in to take their dishes, she heard a strange sound, a jingling of sorts, and began looking around for it. Lilith scooted her chair backwards, and was about to stand, when something jumped on her lap and laid down in a curled ball. She looked down at the fluffy ball of black and white fur as it began to purr.

"Um...hello." She said hesitantly as the kitten looked up at her. She swore she could see him smiling in his large golden-green eyes, his little pink nose twitching, making his long white whiskers move ever so slightly. Kai stood from the other side and came to her. Looking down he smiled.

"Christian. His name is Christian." He knelt down and attempted to remove the small bundle of fur, but it ended in failure when he sank his claws into Liliths leg to assure he wouldn't be moved. Sighing, Kai gave her a pleading look. "I was going to take you home." He said as he glared down at the kitten, who simply looked up at him and purred even louder than before. It was a gentle, happy purr that proved, to a point, he loved Kai, and Lilith. She ran her finger around the kittens neck, on top of his thin yellow collar, until she found the small yellow and blue bow and bell.

"I never would have guessed you'd have a kitten." She said softly, her spirits lifting from his words earlier. She looked up at him innocently, smiling with a slight pout. "He's so cute." She cooed. Gently running her hand down his spine, he closed his eyes and laid his head down on his paws. "You know, you really don't look like the type to keep a kitten. Then again...you also don't look like the type to have such a big house." Lilith looked up at him in confusion as she, herself realized what she'd said. With a sigh, he motioned towards the door. She picked Christian up, which he didn't object to this time, and left the dinning hall. Kai led her through the halls and up the spiral stair case that she couldn't get enough of due to its beauty. He led her down a hallway filled with portraits of men and women she didn't know, but the further they went, the more they resembled Kai himself in face. At the very end of the hall, he stopped in front of a door. Lilith couldn't help but look at the portrait next to it, her breath taken away. The portrait was of a young woman who was the spitting image of Kai, the same eyes, hair, everything. And she was beautiful, her long dual toned hair fell well past her shoulders and out of frame, her royal purple eyes seeming to see through Lilith, in a comfortable way. Her skin was the same creamy color as his, and her full lips appeared as though she were about to speak loving words. Lilith looked over at Kai and caught him staring at the portrait as well, the very likeness of the woman in the frame. She caught the hint of a smile on his lips, but could see the heart break in his eyes. "What happened to her?"

"She died." His voice was barely audible, no more than a whisper, as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Your mother?" She asked the question to assure herself she was right, though she felt incredibly silly for asking it in the first place.

"Yes." He looked at the empty space beyond the door and sighed. "I still have to put his up." He murmured softly to himself, but she'd trained herself on his voice, his words, and heard it. Biting her lip, Lilith gently pet Christians head as he laid across her shoulder.

"Can I ask...How she died?" She asked hesitantly, unsure if it was a question she really wanted to ask or not. He looked at her and smiled weakly.

"She was in a car accident, when I was young. Very young." He opened the door and walked into the room. "She was on her way home to me the night she and my father died. It was right after my father gave me Dranzer." She followed him into the room, but didn't pay attention to any of it until he'd stopped talking. The room was huge, a ceiling that had to be at least eight feet tall, and enough space to fit her apartment. Looking around she spotted the, incredibly hard to miss, king sized bed up against the wall. It was dressed in deep red silk with black pillows and a black canopy, dark, but comfortable at night. The room had a masculine air about it, and she could smell the rich scent of spiced apples hanging in the air. It was most definitely his room. After a moment she heard something shifting, and then the sound of something hard being poured into a bowl. Turning around, she saw Kai pour cat food into a small yellow and blue bowl that was an exact match to Christians collar. She felt the kitten squirm until she put him down, and then he ran for the bowl like he would die without it.

"He seems like he never gets fed." She smiled as she watched the kitten begin to inhale the food in the bowl.

"He does...twice a day. He just eats like Tyson." Kai said the words as though the kitten were some sort of normalcy. She walked around, looking at everything in the room with a deepened curiosity. When she reached his dresser, she stopped and smiled. The top was covered in pictures of him with the Blade Breakers, and a few people she'd never seen before. Some pictures he looked as though he'd been forced to take, others he looked happy to take. There were pictures from tournaments, traveling to tournaments, and the always present randomized, taken in the back yard of a friends house pictures. She picked up a picture of him with the group from long ago and smiled.

"I see you, Ray, Tyson, Max, and Kenny." She said, pointing to each of them as she went. Kai walked over and looked down at the picture, then smiled fondly.

"We won the Chinese tournament, it was harder than we'd expected though, since we ran into the White Tigers, Rays old group before us." He took the picture from her carefully and stared down at it with a serene smile on his face. "We may have under estimated them, to be honest. We had a rough time battling, but in the end, we won. This picture was taken to commemorate it and put in the papers. At that time, I didn't want it, so when I realized later on that I wanted to keep all of these pictures, these memories, of us five along the way, it was a bitch to find. Thankfully, one of Tyson's friends, Andrew, had it still and he gave it to me, with the promise not to tell Tyson." He gently set the picture down and looked back at her. "Well, shall we go?" She looked at him and smiled sweetly.

"Yes, let's." She turned and left the room, waiting for him in the hall and staring at the portrait of his mother. She looked at the name plate below the portrait and read the words softly to herself. "Anastasia Hiwatari." He walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving the kitten inside. They left the mansion and he drove her back to the apartment, a drive she felt was way too short. Kai got out of the car and opened her door for her, walking her to the entrance of the apartment building. She turned to face him, and smiled. "Even though you didn't originally intend to take me out on a date, you didn't half ass it like many other guys would."

"Are you saying you enjoyed yourself?" He asked simply and she giggled.

"I enjoyed myself very much. Thank you." He nodded his head and she bit her lip. Taking a chance, she stood up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his softly, the kiss barely felt if not for the rush of heat the shot through both of them at the contact and the deep blush on their cheeks afterward. "Good night." She turned and quickly ran in the building, embarrassment filling her like never before. She looked back before going to the elevator and watched him walk to the car and climb in. She heard the engine start, and watched as the small silver car shot out of her view. With a sigh to attempt to calm her, she climbed in the elevator and went up to the temporary apartment.

**Me:** OMG! This was the longest chapter so far, and for me, the most awkward to write. x.x Tune in next time to see more! 3


	6. On My Way to You

**THIS CHAPTER IS RATED 18+! READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED!**

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><p>The sun seemed to crawl across the heated hard wood floor, inching nearer as Lilith slept peacefully, curled in the blankets. As the rays reached her form, she rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head. The sun itself was an alarm clock she never wanted set, and it always seemed to bug her the most when she had the best of her dreams. After an hour of struggling to stay asleep and keep the bliss of her fantasies, the sun won out, and she sat up in a daze. Breathing in deeply, her memories of the night before came flooding to the forefront of her bleary thoughts. A deep blush graced her face and she rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. <em>'I want to see him.'<em> She thought, rolling back over and sitting up. _'I want to see him so bad, right now, but...'_ She fell backwards on the bed and looked over at the dress she'd worn the night before, tossed lightly over the back of a lounge chair near the bed. _'How did he feel when I kissed him. It can barely be called a kiss, yeah, but my heart...'_ Putting a hand on her chest, she sighed, staring at the ceiling for a moment. With a sigh, she sat up and slid out of the queen sized bed she inhabited alone. Walking into the connected bathroom, she stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing nothing, as she preferred to sleep, but this day, the lack of clothing felt awkward to her. She ran her hand down the curve of her body and cocked her head just slightly. Closing her eyes, she ran both her hands up from her hips, wrapping them around her. _'What would it feel like? To have him touch me, to feel his body over mine, or even beneath? What would it feel like to hear him say the words that...'_ Lilith froze, dropping her hands as she opened her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror once more. She felt the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm a horrible person." Her voice was barely a whisper, but it echoed in the bathroom as though she were shouting, making the impact of the words hurt even more.

"Hey, Lilith?" A knock sounded on the bedroom door, and the blond jumped a bit at the sound as her best friends voice carried in to her. "Do you want to go out today? It's a bit warmer today than it was yesterday, and I was thinking we could go out and you know, sight see." Lilith watched the door as she spoke, but her friend didn't enter the room. She smiled and blinked what little of the tears were left, stuck to her lashes.

"Sure, let's go. I don't think we need the boys, though, since it's just sight seeing. You're supposed to get lost when you sight see, just a little, right?" She joked, walking out of the bathroom and to the bedroom door. She opened the door to see the other woman dressed in a tank top and red boy short underwear with little skulls on them. Layla smiled and jumped up and down, excitedly. She turned quickly on the balls of her feet, and ran towards the room down the hall, which she'd taken. Lilith chuckled and returned to her room to dress.

Before she knew it, the two women were walking down the side walk of the main shopping district in Bay City. It was a very different feel from the first time they'd walked around, a dangerous excitement building in Lilith as she and Layla wandered aimlessly. The soft breeze was from the south, and warm, a decent change to the biting cold that had stuck to the city since they'd first landed. The waist length fur coat that she wore was almost too thick for the weather, and she'd kept it hanging open to reveal the simple, thin black shirt she wore beneath. Her pleated, knee length skirt was a light shade of mint green, and the outfit was completed with a pair of simple white shoes to tie in the white fur coat. Layla turned quickly, her black, stiletto heeled combat boots matching perfectly the camouflage, long sleeved shirt that she wore, though the silver skull on the front made Lilith roll her eyes every time she saw the shirt. She'd let today go, since they were only sight seeing, and she felt that the blue jeans Layla had matched with the outfit were acceptable for the weather and outing itself. "So I have to ask. Last night, did you two...?" The red head waggled her eye brows at her friend as a deep blush crossed the blond's cheeks.

"I'm not THAT easy!" She screamed, quickening her pace and putting the other girl behind her. "We did absolutely nothing!" She heard the clicking of the heels as Layla ran up beside her and leaned in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Nothing?" The question was drawled out, and Lilith swore she heard the Russian accent force its way out simply to make the word seem more intimidating. Her blush intensified, the heat rushing to her face like a lake under a waterfall, as the remembrance of the kiss flooded her. Before she could say anything, a light voice began speaking.

"Cold, desolate, forbidding, just some of the many qualities you'll find when you book an exciting trip to Russia-" The males voice was cut off as Layla pulled out her cell phone and answered it with a quick, "Pree-vee-et" , or "Hello" in Russian. She stayed silent for a moment, falling slightly behind Lilith as they walked. "That'd be awesome! Where are you guys now?" Lilith jumped at the sudden shout of excitement from her friend and looked back at her. Layla was staring at the ground, a soft blush lining her cheeks. _'She's talking to Ray. I can see it all over her.'_ The blond smiled at the thought of how happy this one boy made her best friend, but the smile faded as her eyes roamed from her friends love struck face to the man behind her. He was tall, his face covered with a ski mask, and in his hands was a bat. Opening her mouth to call out to her, Lilith reached out a hand at Layla, who looked up just in time for the man to smash the bat into the back of her head. Before Lilith could scream, a large, gloved hand covered her mouth as an arm wrapped around her waist. Struggling, she beat and clawed at the hands, kicked at whatever she could reach, and listened to the grunts of pain from her attacker. The second man ran up and grabbed her legs, holding her steady as she wriggled around. The street they were on had practically been empty, so nobody had even seen what had happened, and Lilith knew that. A third man appeared and quickly bound her hands with tape, gaining a few scratches on his exposed neck as he did so. Through the hand over her mouth, her muffled screams hit her ears, but they didn't go much further passed that. Twisting and writhing in their grip, Lilith found Layla, laying on the ground, blood seeping from the gash on the back of her head. She tried to scream louder as the red head groggily blinked her eyes open and looked up at her. "Lilith!" Her voice echoed on the buildings of the empty street as one of the men left her to handle the red head, who was now back on her feet and running for them. As they shoved Lilith inside the large minivan, she caught sight of the bat colliding with Laylas head once again, the impact sending blood flying and knocking her to her knees once more. The door was slammed shut as the man with the bat climbed into the front seat. Lilith struggled, she screamed, she wiggled and thrashed her body about as much as she could, but they didn't seem to notice, or care.

"Shut her up, would you?" The man with the bat grunted the words, his voice deep, rasping against her senses like nails on a chalk board. A moment later, Liliths world was forced into blackness, pain pulsating through her head.

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><p>"Layla! Layla!" Ray's voice screamed through the phone as the red head blinked awake. Her head was pounding with the force of gravity, her world spinning as she threw up what little she'd eaten this morning. Straightening herself just a bit, she looked around, heat flooding her body in a natural reaction to her blood loss. The slight breeze that blew against her back stung the injury in the back, while blood continued to seep from the wound on the side. Patting her hand around on the ground, she finally found the small cellular device, the source of the voice that was making her head ache even worse than before.<p>

"Ray...come quick. Lilith...some guys..." Her speech was broken, her thought process scattered from the impacts of the bat to her head. She was surprised she was still alive at all. A shiver ran through her body as she slowly crawled towards the nearest building and leaned her back against it, trying to stabilize herself, to get some sort of ground beneath her. Once she was stable, she swallowed down the bile that rose into her throat and put the phone up to her ear once more. "They took her, Ray. They took Lilith." Her voice was harsh inflicted with the pain of her wounds, and the pain her losing her friend to the kidnappers.

"Where are you?" His voice was commanding, but filled with worry. She looked around her and told him the street name that was on the sign. "We're on our way. Stay there, and relax." Her hand fell to her lap, a sudden weakness over coming her as her head leaned against the building on the only side that didn't have an open gash from the bat. She took the chance to look around at where she'd woken, staring at the two large pools of blood from the first blow, and the second almost ten feet away. She stared at the trail of large splattered blood droplets that lead from one pool to the other, where she'd stood and tried to give chase, to stop them from taking Lilith. Her vision became blurry as tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. Soon after, the sound of car wheels screeching to a stop off to the side of her, the slamming of doors, the hard thudding of the two young men who ran to her side and knelt in front of her. She looked to one side at Ray, his long hair was tied back in its usual manner, his hand cupping her cheek as his catty eyes analyzed her injuries.

"They took her." Layla sobbed, small hiccups chocking her words, her breaths, as she tried to get up and he pushed her back down gently. She looked at the form next to her, the cool calculation of the royal purple eyes, the stoic, emotionless face as it read into her words, then began to look around the scene of the attack. "We were cutting through here to get to the park, because the map said it would be easier." Shaking, she pointed toward her large black and white purse that had been dropped with the first blow. Her eyes looked around and found Lilith's small black sling purse, her chest tightening, her heart aching. Lilith had dropped it when she'd been grabbed, when Layla had been hit and she'd tried to help her. "There were three of them...big guys." Her head pounded as she forced herself to remember. "They hit me with a bat, a metal one. Then grabbed Lilith and stuffed her into a car...a van. Green, with tinted windows, I couldn't see inside." She couldn't suppress the pained, yet amused, chuckled that rose from her, nor the exhausted half smile that tugged at her lips. "It took all three of the bastards just to tape her up and get her in the fucking car." She could hear Ray on the phone with 911, calling for an ambulance and retelling the abduction.

"Which way did they go?" The question was dark, menacing, dangerous as Kai turned and stared at her, his eyes lit with the fire of pure anger. She pointed down the street and jerked her finger to the side, saying that they'd rounded the corner. Before she could even look back at him from staring up the street, she heard the car door slam shut, the engine rev, and the screeching of his tires as he tore down the empty street. She could hear the sirens now, distant, but enough to make her head throb as Ray knelt by her side and ran a finger down her cheek.

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><p>Kai could hear his blood pounding in his ears. He'd never been so furious, never been so scared. He couldn't get the sight of Layla's blood scattered over the pavement out of his mind. A shiver rolled down his spine as his imagination went wild with images of a blood smeared Lilith, death glazing her eyes. Shaking his head, he focused on the road, the side walks and parking spaces, desperate to find that van. Pulling out his cell phone, he punched in a number on his speed dial and put the device to his ear.<p>

"Hello?" The voice on the other end sounded happy, more than he wanted at this point in time.

"Kenny, can you do me a favor?" He waited a moment until he heard the soft grunt of agreement. "I need you to track down a number, think you can do it?" After another quick grunt, he listed out the number to Lilith's cell and paused once he was done, giving the Chief time to work his magic with Dizzy. A soft ping echoed from the other line and he listened as Kenny's fingered grazed over the keys to his laptop.

"I'm sending it to your phone now. But really, who are you meeting in an old warehouse anyways?" Kai could feel his blood boiling inside him as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, his lips a thin line.

"Send this location to Ray, and tell Max and Tyson that I might need their help. Tell them all I need them to come to this location as soon as possible." His voice was stern, commanding, the tone he'd used before when he was their team captain. With that, he hung the call up and opened the directions his computer wiz friend had sent him via text message. A quick screeching of the tires and he flew off in the direction he needed to go to get there the fastest, his sight red with rage.

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><p>A moan escaped her lips as she awoke in pain, her head throbbing. She slowly blinked her eyes open, but winced in pain as she was met with the light from the only light fixture in the room. "Ouch." A shiver ran over her as she rolled onto her side. She could feel the ice cold concrete against her bare skin, and she knew instantly that she'd been stripped of her clothing. Peering into the darkness, she had to force herself to focus as her sight continued to blur from the pain in her head. They'd really hit her hard, and she'd be damned if they got away with it. Sitting up, Lilith started to move toward the shadows, a reaction to the danger she felt rising inside her body, but she didn't get very far as something tugged on her wrists and brought her to the floor. With another low groan of pain, she felt the blood begin to seep from her nose from the impact. <em>'Something pulled...'<em> Lilith held her hands up and stared at the chains and cuffs that had been locked onto her wrists. There was blood, still fresh, though drying, streaked down her arm and covering the metal of the cuffs, proof they were on much too tight. Anger raced through her a split second before her head began to spin and bile rose to the back of her throat. Her head pounded as she swallowed hard, avoiding the nausea in the only way she knew how.

"I'm glad you're awake." The voice drifted to her from the darkness, it made her head ache more, it enraged her. Lilith began to feel like an animal as she stared into the shadows in the direction of the voice. She could make out the silhouette of a woman, more of a stick than a woman truly, and her mind began to roll over the list of women who wanted her gone. She gave up after the one hundredth and decided that, if she survived, she would try to be a nicer person. Licking her dry lips, she threw a glare in the direction of the silhouette as she heard the soft tapping of cheap heels against the concrete.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" She demanded, her voice rough and cracking. Her eyes began to adjust to the shadows, looking passed the one light to analyze the darkness around her. She counted out five men, tall, burly men she believed were there for more than just show. The possibilities disgusted her.

"Oh come now, Miss Leroy, you can't have forgotten me yet." The words were spoken in a grossly sweet voice and Lilith closed her eyes to analyze it, to remember where she'd heard it before. "It's not like it was that long ago right?" The image of a bear and an elephant, of blood flying, of her teams victory, and the defeated teams looks of hatred. Her head throbbed once more as she tried to remember the woman's name.

"Haruki." She said simply and she heard the shrill cackle from the blackness around her, the insanity. She knew what losing your Bit beast did, she'd seen this insanity many times, but never had she allowed herself to be so weak as to get captured by it. "You're nuts." She murmured as she tugged on the chains and winced as pain rushed through her body from her wrists.

"I'm not nuts! I'm perfectly fine! You took away everything of mine! You took away my fame, my honor, my BIT BEAST!" She was screaming, walking towards Lilith. Standing, the blond ran in the opposite direction, but she wasn't fast enough to escape the rage, the sheer pain she knew the woman suffered from. A hand buried in her hair, pulled her backward and slammed her against the floor. Light shrouded Lilith's sight as the woman leaned over her. "You destroyed me!" Her voice was psychotic, shrill with anger, with pain, and even passed the shadows lining her face, Lilith could see nothing but her cold, dead eyes. This was how they got, this was why you killed the holder after the bit beast, because they completely lost humanity. "I'm gonna avenge him." She said coolly, a chuckle of excitement and anticipation rising in her.

"You'll never get away with this." Lilith insisted, her head still pounded from the impact. She watched the twisted, sadistic grin contort the woman's face, and couldn't help but compare the look to a rabid hyena. Haruki snapped her fingers from above her and an unknown terror sank in her as the men stepped forward, each one holding on to the same sort of sick grin she had as she stepped back.

"I'm gonna enjoy this." They'd begun to surround her, like a pack of hyenas, vultures circling for the kill. She slowly pushed herself back on the ground as they began to lick their lips, to laugh at the futility of her desperation. "I'm gonna enjoy watching you vandalized, and then sending your lifeless corpse to your pretty boyfriend." Lilith damned herself as she wished she had simply ignored him, pushed him off and did what she'd always done and killed Haruki when she had the chance. They grabbed at her, touched her, forced her to the ground, forced her legs open. She thrashed, kicked, screamed, she bit and clawed at their faces, arms, anything she could touch. But it changed nothing, they continued, the first settling himself in between her legs, and she could feel it there, his cock pressing against the folds of her sex. She screamed as he began to push his head against the opening, began to take her, and all she could do and struggle futilely, to scream when she knew nobody could hear her.

"KAI!" She knew it was useless, he would never have found her that fast, and if he had, would he have let it get this far? She shuddered as they held her down, as the one on top of her began to work his head in, and her spirit began to break with each of her broken sobs.


	7. No Denying It Now

His heart pounded in his chest, his blood roaring in his ears as he pulled the car to a screeching stop and jumped out. He didn't waste a moment running inside the building, his instincts taking over as he ran from room to room in the empty warehouse. It had been redone, given rooms in an attempt to make it useable for some other business, but it had failed and been abandoned shortly after. Finally, he heard it, his name called out, echoing in the dankness of the shadows. His heart stopped at the desperation in her voice, the pain, the fear. He ran for the sound, stumbling over discarded pipes and bricks scattered across the floor. He found it, the door, and he knew it was right. He could hear her fighting on the other side, could smell the French vanilla that covered her body, hear her sobs. Bursting in, he went straight for the threat against her, the one on top, the one trying to taint her. The man looked up just in time to meet head on with Kais fist, his head flying back as blood sprayed from the sliced skin on his forehead. The others discarded her quickly, came after him, ready to take him out. Before he could get into position, something came flying past his shoulder and slammed into the head of one of his attackers, forcing him back and bouncing off of him. His eyes caught the object that was barely smaller than a fist, and it was green and gold. He smiled quickly as he turned just in time to see Max jump into the room, grab up his blade and set it up to be launched once more. The small red laser locked onto another one of the guys just in time for Kai to swing around and connect his steel toed boot to the jaw of another. Max's first victim stood, the bridge of his nose crushed, blood spilling down his face and dripping to the floor.

"You'll pay for that you little brat!" The man roared, running to the side and grabbing the metal bat. As he ran for Max, getting too close for the blond to be able to shoot at him, a flash of blue whisked into the room and the bat stopped as it collided with the hard wood of the practice sword. Kai knew that he'd never been so happy to see Tyson, nor that Tyson had actually learned anything from his grandfather, as he was right now. Spinning on the ball of his foot once again, sending another attacker flying against the wall, he ran to Lilith as she sat on the floor, struggling to get free of the shackles that tied her down. Kneeling down next to her, their gazes met, her icy eyes begging him for assistance, a silent plea that only he could see in her distinguished features. She was his rock, his strong, sweet Lilith, and just that one look had been enough for him for fall even deeper into the pool of emotion he'd stayed well enough away from. Looking around the room, his eyes searched for something to break the chains, but he found nothing that would have been strong enough. Biting his lip, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his blade, Dranzer had waited patiently for him, and he could feel his bits lust for blood, its desire to destroy what tied her down. Removing the launcher that he kept in a holster at his thigh, he locked his blade in and stepped back. Taking in a deep breath to still his heart, to draw his confidence in himself and the large bird bit he held, he aimed the blade at the chains.

"Kai, hurry!" Tyson's voice came from behind him as the younger man slammed the practice sword skillfully into the gut of one of the men who had been sneaking up behind Kai. Another breath, and he launched the blade, its thick metal attack ring pounding into the chains, sparks flying as the metal heated and clashed, as Dranzer continuously beat the chains, thinning them with each hit. He kept his concentration, kept still his anger, and his desire to kill the woman who'd been the cause, the one that watched from her safe, dark little corner where the three men had yet to reach her. Hiding like a coward behind the five burly men she'd hired to take what he felt was his. After breathless moments of the sparking and clanging, the chains finally released her, dropping to the floor as she stood. Once she was up, he wrapped his arms around her, held her close to him and breathed in the scent of the sweet French vanilla, the sour of her fear, the sweat that had begun beading on her skin at the touch of the other men. He felt her nails dig into his shirt as she grabbed at him, a desperate search for security, and he could hear the small sobs of fear and relief choking from her.

"Hold it right there!" The last man thudded to the ground as Tyson brought the wooden practice sword around and held it up defensively, but they all froze. Even Max wasn't in the right position to reload and launch his blade at the woman, fear sinking into them all as she pointed a small hand gun at Kai and Lilith. "She will pay for what she's done, even if you have to go with her when she does." Haruki took a step toward them, a dangerous, unsteady step that told them all that she was on her last strand of humanity. She pointed the gun at Lilith, who sucked in her breath and put on a brave face. He could see it, the forced, hardened expression she wore to hide the unbounded fear that wrapped around her, sank deep within her soul. Dranzer still spun at his feet, primed for an attack, and he could feel his bit beasts willingness, its desire to enact what he himself wanted to do, but refused to allow himself. Her finger tensed and his world slowed, as she pulled the trigger. The bullet flew as he threw Lilith aside and Dranzer was released from the blade with every murderous force his soul felt. He didn't think, only waved his hand, an order enough to the phoenix who proceeded to send a wave of white hot flames across the woman with a flap of its large wings. Ear piercing screams filled the air as the five men assisting Haruki scrambled to their feet and ran out of the room as fast as they could. His heart stopped as he realized what he'd done, as Dranzer returned to his side, wings folded, a sense of satisfaction leaking from its very presence. In the blink of an eye, Kai's blade returned to his hand, Dranzer sinking back inside the chip. He clipped his launcher to his thigh and grabbed Lilith, picking her up and running from the room followed by Tyson and Max. As they raced from the building and ducked behind the car, they heard the series of explosions from the warehouse, felt the heat of the flames as they were forced out and then calmed, rising to the sky with thick black smoke. As they all stood, they stared at the building, the chill of the day hitting them. Lilith shivered as the breeze hit her bare flesh and Kai looked down at her. Opening the car, he pulled out his thick leather jacket, the one he'd worn on the date, and wrapped it around her. She was just short enough, small enough, that the jacket fell below her back side, hitting high on her thighs. He pulled her close and simply held her for moments on end, forgetting about the other two as Max pulled out his cell, which had started ringing. He was barely aware of the sirens as the fire trucks and ambulance pulled up, or of the police officer who walked up and asked them what had happened. After asking a few more times, Kai finally looked over at him, but he was at a loss for words to explain.

"There was a woman inside. She was smoking, and threw the cigarette onto some sort of chemical. She caught on fire, but we didn't know what to do, so we ran. We barely got out before the place blew." The voice was Max, sweet, happy, conniving Max. Kai swore, the boy was a coyote if he ever saw one, the outward appearance of a sweet puppy, but the ability to be just as cool and cruel as the best of them. Nobody denied the lie, and he most certainly wouldn't. Tyson stood back and simply agreed with Max, repeating a slightly altered version to make it seem more realistic, since no two stories were perfectly alike in a real situation such as this one. When they asked him what had happened, he simply stared at them, his brain still registering what had happened, the lie they told, and how to continue it with himself.

"She was..." He paused for a moment as discomfort started to set in on him, a throbbing ache at his side. Shifting a bit, he tried to focus on the officer, he sight blurring. He heard a quick gasp of shock and horror come from Lilith and looked down curiously. Her hand was cover in blood, dripping with it and he started searching her body for the injury. The officer ran off to grab a medic as Tyson, Max, and Lilith all stared at him in terror. Suddenly, the discomfort became an unbearable pain that pulsed through him, pounding with each beat of his heart. His bleary gaze drifted to his side and he caught sight of the large stain of red that tainted his shirt, the thick liquid dripping to the ground and pooling beneath him. A moment later, his body felt too heavy to hold up any longer and his world went black.

* * *

><p>A soft beeping punctured his dream, echoing in his head painfully as he was thrust from the warmth and happiness he'd found in his own fantasies as of late. Fighting to sleep longer, to return to that bliss he'd felt, the beeping only seemed to get louder, until he finally gave up the fight and slowly blinked his eyes open. He stared up at the white ceiling tiles, allowing everything to sink in, the memories of what had happened pushing to the forefront. The chill of the sterilized room hit his skin, sending a shiver quickly down his spine, not of cold, but of realization. He was in a hospital, one of his least favorite places to be. Kai sat up in the bed, but fell back down when his air whisked from him and pain shot through his body, emanating from his side. After a moment of staring at the ceiling some more, his body recovered its feeling, having been numb from his sleep, a sweet warmth seeped into his arm. Turning his head, he stared at the blond hair, the serene peace of sleep on her face, at her hand gripping his arm in worry. Breathing in deeply, he could smell the French Vanilla she always wore, it was stronger now, and her hair was slightly damp. She'd taken a shower not long ago at all. His heart sank at the thought of her having left his side. The door to the room clicked and swung open slowly as Layla walked in, her eyes on the floor. She was dressed lazily, wearing just a pair of sweats and a baggy T-shirt, and in her hands was another pair of clothing for Lilith. He could tell they didn't belong to Layla because they looked a bit more refined than even she wore, which was just Lilith style. Closing his eyes quickly, he listened as she walked up and gently shook the blond.<p>

"Come on, at least change clothes. I barely got you into that shower this morning. The world won't end if you leave his side for five minutes, you know." Her voice was soft, and though she was making jokes, it sounded saddened, willing to bend to Lilith's wishes.

"What if he wakes up, Lay? What if he wakes up and I'm gone? What if-" He felt the warmth of her hand wrap around his own, gently squeeze his. Layla sighed and tossed the clothes on the chair in the corner. He heard her footsteps move to the door, heard it open.

"At least change clothes. You've been wearing those for the last two days, and that's not like you. And..." She hesitated on the last command. "Call your father." He listened to the small click as the door closed behind her, and Lilith's silent movements as she hesitantly moved from his side and changed her clothes. He heard her throw her old clothes to the side and pick up the new ones, his heart pounding. Curiosity getting the better of him, Kai opened his eyes and watched her change. She had her back to him, but he reveled in the smooth curve of her body, the intense hour glass of her figure that made men drool over her. Her hair was just short enough to see a good deal of her bare back, and the clasps to the expensive, white lace bra she wore. Her underwear matched, he noticed, taking in the sheer material of the lace that lay like a breath on her skin, covering her perfectly shaped rear. How he would love to simply cup that bottom, to touch her, to kiss her the way he wanted, to show her how much she meant to him, even after such little time having known her. Something about this woman made his heart pound, made his soul feel complete when he was with her, and that was what he'd searched for. He'd taken numerous girls home with him, getting someone in his bed was easy, though he'd only ever dated a few of them. And through all of these women, he'd never met any that he simply wanted to hold, to be with, to love, as he did the one next to his hospital bed. He froze as she turned around and looked at him, her eyes meeting his, holding his gaze in their icy blue depths. After a moment, he realized why she'd turned around. He'd reached out, he'd grabbed her arm, he'd tugged her back a bit, made her look at him. A soft blush tinged her cheeks as she stared at him, his body tensing as he realized she was still wearing nothing but her underwear. Letting her go, he felt his face heat up, rush with the blood of a deep blush, as he rolled onto his opposite side in embarrassment. A moment after he'd rolled over, her hand touched his shoulder, and then the pain came, pounding into him in thick waves. Rolling back onto his back, his face twisted in pain, he gasped, his hands gripping at the sheets. He'd rolled onto his injury, he realized, and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Be careful." She whispered at his ear, her forehead pressing against his. "It's okay, just be careful with your side." Kai allowed himself a minute to take in the sweet French accent that forced its way to the forefront of her speech as she whispered in his ear. Her hand touched his chest and all the pain he felt subsided, being replaced by her warmth, her worry. Opening his eyes again, he reached his hand up and took hers, holding it close to him, keeping her near him. He was well aware of the fact that she was still wearing practically nothing, but he didn't care, he just wanted to feel her, he needed her. Rolling to his side, the non-injured one, he scooted back carefully and gently tugged on her until she laughed. With the utmost of grace, she slid into the bed and laid next to him, facing him, her hands on his chest. He breathed in the sweet scent of her skin, his new favorite smell, and basked in the heat of her body. Looking down at her, he saw the pink blush, the desire she was forcing back as she touched his chest, as she melted his heart. Looking around the room, he took in the lack of windows, the one door that was closed, the evidence that she'd been the only one staying with him. He saw the coffee cups from the Starbucks down stairs, the things she'd obviously had brought in for her to do while she waited, that had stayed untouched, and the chair she'd pulled up next to his bed so that she didn't have to leave. A smile tugged at his lips just before he leaned down and kissed her forehead, feeling her jump in surprise, watched as she looked up at him with large eyes of shock, a scorching desire melting the usual ice they held. Cupping her cheek in his palm he smiled. He hadn't said a word at all, not since he woke up, but it didn't matter to him, he didn't feel the need to say anything at all, not with words. He gently pushed her head back, changing her angle to suit him, and took her lips. He closed his eyes and tasted her, the sweetness of her mint toothpaste, the soft subtlety of the strawberry chap stick she wore. He felt her melt beneath him, and felt himself falling even deeper, sinking into her as he rolled on top of her. Holding his weight above her, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pressed into the kiss, he felt the soft moan of pleasure rumble through her. His body pulsated with the heat of need, of pure bliss. This was where he belonged, with her, holding her, loving her, and for the first time in his life, he felt complete. Pressing his tongue into her mouth, he allowed himself to lose what little control he'd had left, holding her close. He froze as he felt the small shudder that shook her body beneath him, his mind returning to him. They had forced her into a position just like this, they had tried to take her just like this, and she probably couldn't stand the thought. His breath caught as he rolled off of her and let her go, a slight self disgust rising inside him.

"I'm sorry." He breathed the words as he started to get up, to move away from her. Again, her hand touched his shoulder, held him down and kept him from what would have potentially hurt him.

"You can't. You might pop your stitches." Her voice was breathy, the air he breathed as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stopped and looked back at her just as her words hit him, a questioning look. She was staring at him, still laying down, reading him with a look of worry. "You got shot. It went through cleanly, but it still hit you. We told them that she shot you just as she caught fire, that we didn't have time to notice, but only to run. Max thought of it." He thought about her words and felt the sides of his mouth curve into a smile.

"He's always been more conniving than he lets on. Max is incredibly intelligent, though he loves fun just about as much as Tyson. He's a dangerous person." There was a still silence after he spoke and he looked back at her only to see the sheer shock on her face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open ever so slightly, and he wondered of he could steal another one of those passionate kisses from those plump pink lips. After a moment, she blinked a few times and smiled a light hearted giggle rising from her. He smiled as she did and simply watched her. Her hair was a mess, but he liked it that way, looking as though they'd just spent a night of passion rolling around between the sheets. She wasn't covered, wasn't blocked from him, and her open personality told him she didn't mind being so naked in front of him. He laid back down as she turned onto her side and they face each other. "Can I touch you?" The question even surprised him as it came out of his mouth, and he felt the heat rush to his face as he watched the soft pink grace her cheeks. She nodded slowly, looking away from him, and he couldn't help but smile. His strong, willful, demon of a woman was showing him a side he didn't think she had, and it made his heart flutter with love. Kai gently touched a finger to her cheek, ran it down the smooth skin, down to her jaw as he gently lifted her head just enough. He watched her eyes close slowly, expectantly, her long, blond eyelashes fanning against her cheek in a sinful way. He pressed his lips to hers gently, stealing a softer, heated kiss, hoping his emotions showed in it.

* * *

><p>Her heart felt as though it would stop with the simple touch of his lips against her, the feather light brush of the soft flesh. His breath against her skin made her burn with desire, made her ache for him in a way she didn't know she could, and it made her heart ache. She loved this man, and she wasn't supposed to. She hadn't come to Japan to find love, yet she'd found it in a pair of royal eyes, in large, coarse hands that touched her with the softest grace, a lean, muscular body that held her close, and warmed her to the soul. She'd found it in his secretive humor, and his adoration of his team mates, his ability to yell at her, defy her, and then turn around and make her smile. She'd found it in him, and the thought made her ache. She didn't have a choice, or at least, she wasn't supposed to have a choice. This had been decided long before she'd even wanted a choice. His finger ran down her neck, swept over her shoulder, his hand caressing her waist and resting lightly on her hip. She wanted this love, she wanted his touch, his everything. Lilith wanted this sinful experience to last, though she knew it wouldn't. It hadn't even been a week since she met him, and yet, she loved him to the deepest depths of her heart. Sinking in against him, she embraced the warmth of his body, the feel of his breath brushing her hair, the gentle petting of his thumb on her hip. She didn't want to leave this, didn't want anyone else to have this with him. Her hands against his chest, she felt his heart beat beneath his skin, enjoyed the feel of his muscles through the thin hospital gown. She wanted him to know how much he meant to her, how much she wanted him, needed him, but she knew what was coming. She knew she couldn't stay here in his arms forever, she couldn't stay in Japan forever. Her mind began to drift and sleep pressed on her, come to take her and keep her in his arms for a while longer, but just before she could fully slip into the bliss of a restful sleep, the loud alarm of her cell phone echoed in the room, making them both jump. She looked up at him, her heart pounding in shock, and she pulled away, sliding off of the bed and grabbing the phone. "Bonjour." The word seemed odd to her now, though she said it as naturally as she always had.<p>

"Bonjour, ma cour." Her heart stopped at the deep voice on the other end. It was the voice she didn't want to hear, the voice she'd never wanted to hear, but knew well. This was the man her father loved, and wanted her to love. This was her fiance, Jacques Ramound, the son of a wealthy business man in France. She looked back at Kai, took in the confusion on his face as he sat up slowly, pain tensing his features as he did.

"What do you want?" She hissed into the phone just before a sound of fake shock came through. She heard him chuckle, a deep, unsettling sound that had her skin crawling.

"Oh, my dear, can I not simply talk to my fiance?" He hissed the word as though it were the most disgusting thing he'd ever said. She glared at the phone, wishing she could simply kill him and get it over with. "Where did you go? You're not in Paris." She froze at his statement and a shiver ran down her spine. She hadn't even been gone a week, and he wasn't supposed to be back in Paris for another two weeks.

"How did you know that I was gone?" Her voice was lowered, a whisper in attempt to hide the conversation from Kai. Silence met her, and it made her bite her lip in fear.

"So...Dickenson called you away to Japan to simply meet a group of brats?" Her eyes widened as her stomach churned. He was in her apartment. "Funny, you would've never left without telling me, right? Especially to simply go and meet a bunch of kids." His voice dripped with an anger she didn't want to hear. A warm hand gently ran over her hip, and she jumped, looking back at Kai as he came up behind her and nuzzled her shoulder. "Lilith...come home now. I've moved the date to next week." She opened her mouth to protest as Kai kissed her neck, a moan coming out instead of her harsh words. "What was that?" She jumped, the anger she knew he'd release, the jealousy.

"Nothing!" She screamed, her hand finding Kai's and gripping it to get him to stop.

"Good! If you dare cheat on me again...well you know how it'll end." She shuddered just before the line was cut, not out of fear, though, out of anger. Jacques was trying to rule her life again, and they weren't even married yet. She didn't even love him. Another warm kiss to her neck, hot breath brushing against her skin that made her body burn and drew out a soft moan of pleasure.

"Kai...don't..." She breathed as he continued to kiss her neck and shoulders lovingly. Just to defy her, he gently nipped at her ear, held her close, blew against her flesh.

"Who was that?" Soft. His voice was so soft towards her, filled with love, the complete opposite of Jacques. Her heart fluttered with love for Kai, and pain with the knowledge of what would happen. She was going to be forced to go home and leave her love to marry a man who hated her. Who she hated more than anything. There wasn't even the option of going behind his back, because if he ever found out, he'd kill her, and she knew it. Pure defiance burned in her, and the need to take the one she truly loved. Turning in his arms, she wrapped her arms around Kai's neck and pressed her lips to his. She saw the shock on his face a moment before she closed her eyes, felt it in his body as she pressed against him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close as she could get to him, pulled her up and cupped her rear to hold her in place. God, how she loved this man. Everything he did made her feel different things, every time he touched her, she burned, every time he let go, she was cold. Every time he kissed her, she ached to have him, to tell him how much he meant to her. His tongue forced its way into her mouth, wrapping and dancing around her own, lifting her higher into the bliss they shared. Their little secret. Pulling back, he leaned down and kissed her neck once more, his palm cupping her cheek as he whispered the words in her ear she'd only dreamed of him saying until now. "I love you." He gently nuzzled close to her as a part of her ignited in pure fire, and another part died with the knowledge. They loved each other, but they would never be together, because she was spoken for. She clung to him tightly, telling herself that, for just tonight, it was okay to love him. That it was okay to let him love her all night, to not think about tomorrow, or going back to Paris. She pulled back a bit and kissed him, a hot, passionate kiss.

"I love you, so much." The words were a breath against his lips as she continued to kiss him hotly. They held onto each other tightly, neither one wanting to let go as they slowly made it back to the bed. She slowly sat down, dragging her hands down his chest and stomach as she laid down. He climbed on top of her and gently kissed her. Each kiss was like lava, searing into her as his hands roved her body. "We shouldn't, your injury." She moaned as his hand cupped her breast through the lace of her bra. He softly feathered kisses over her jaw, smiling.

"I'll be fine, I'm more worried about you. Are you sure about this?" His words brushed against her skin lightly, a heated breath of desire as she nodded, holding tightly to him. She didn't want this to end, didn't want to let go of this dream that she'd managed to find. Her father had always told her that dreams never came true, they were a figment of her imagination and that she should never take them seriously. However, this wasn't a dream, it was real, more real than she could have ever imagined it being. She pulled the tie at the back of the hospital gown he wore and stripped him of the fabric, throwing it aside as he settled in between her legs. His heat rushed into her, made her head spin as her heart pounded in her chest, an unbearable need over taking her. They pulled away, gasping for air, just for a moment, long enough for him to unclasp her bra and slide it from her arms. He sat up and tossed the undergarment onto the near by chair, hooking his finger on the waist band of her panties. Lilith reached up and pulled him back down, inciting another passionate kiss that stole their breath away. Just as he started to slide her panties down, to clear the only barrier left between him and her, the door swung open widely as Layla bounded into the room followed by Ray.

"Lilith!" Layla's voice echoed happily in the room as the intruders froze and stared wide eyed at the two, who were so shocked by the suddenness that they'd simply stopped and stared towards the door. Ray slowly turned around, his face nothing less than complete stoned shock as he left the room with quick, embarrassed steps. Layla watched him go and fidgeted in the doorway, unsure whether or not to follow or to stay. Letting go of an exhausted sigh, Kai leaned his head against Lilith's shoulder as Layla went back and forth for a few moments.

"Just leave!" Lilith screamed, throwing a nearby cup filled with water at the redhead, who looked just in time to duck and run out of the room, pulling the door behind her. As the click sounded, the room went silent as Lilith's body relaxed underneath him. His warmth sank into her as he shifted slightly and laid down next to her. Running a finger down her cheek, his royal eyes stared at her, taking in the exhaustion, the frustration and anger.

"I think we should really sleep right now." His voice was low, soft, as he nuzzled against her cheek, his hand gently sliding down her arm and webbing his fingers with hers. "Though I don't think I could let you go tonight." He whispered the words in her ear, kissing her cheek. "Stay with me. Just sleep beside me tonight. Sleep here, with me tonight." She smiled, rolling onto her side and snuggling close to his chest. He leaned down and pulled the thin white sheet over them, tucking the air light material under his arm and over her shoulder as he held her close. Leaning his cheek against her head, he closed his eyes and breathed in the sent of her, that sweet French Vanilla that had haunted him since the day they met. "I love you, Lilith." He whispered to her, gently petting her hair as he begin to drift into a sleep unlike the one before it. A peaceful sleep.

"I love you too, Kai." Her voice, like music to his ears and balm to his tired soul, drifted to him weakly as sleep got the better of her. He followed in her stead, allowing himself to slip into the bliss of a deep sleep, his body wrapping around her in an attempt to keep her close, to keep her safe.


	8. A Prisoner's Call

Lilith blinked herself awake at the yelling outside the room. Her vision was blurry, her head spinning with sleep as the yelling continued to get progressively louder, closer. Sitting up, she dragged her fingers through her mussed blonde hair, gathering her mind from the sleep sand and looking towards the door. More yelling, just outside the thick wooden door. Looking down, she found Kai's arm gently wrapped around her waist, a loving embrace that made her smile and look back at him. He was asleep, peaceful, a smile on his face, his body completely relaxed as he lay with her. She gently pet his hair, the soft strands falling back into place limply as she toyed with them. The yelling got louder as the door swung open, and she turned to see the intruder. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart stopped. The man leaning in the door stood at about 6'1", with shortly cut brown hair and the amber eyes of a lion. He was staring at her, rage evident in every fiber of his being as he took in the scene. There she sat, in bed, with another man, both of them in nothing but their underwear with a thin sheet to cover them, in a room with no windows and one door that stayed closed. Instinctively, she grabbed the sheet and pulled it over her breasts, hiding her body from him. "Jacques." She murmured his name with an edge of raw disgust.

"Lilith!" He roared her name, storming towards her and grabbing her arm to pull her from the bed. "You cheating little slut!" He was screaming, his hand raising in the air. She flinched, steeling herself for the pain, the beating he was going to give her right here in a public hospital. As his hand came down, she closed her eyes tightly. When it didn't touch her, when silence came and pain was nowhere but the wrist he held, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. A larger hand held his away from her, had stopped it as it came down and was twisting it with pressure. Jacques face contorted with pain as he let go of her wrist and began to claw at the hand holding him.

"Who are you?" The low rumble of Kai's voice came from behind her and trembled into her body. He was close, in fact, he was touching her, his chest to her back, and she was so shocked she simply couldn't feel his heat. Jacques looked at him with an aghast expression, a shock that was part genuine, part fake.

"What you don't know?" He managed to yank himself from Kai and take a step back from the bed, and Lilith. Kai wrapped his arms around her, shifting enough to wrap one arm around her waist and drape the other over her shoulder. The position was defensive of her, possessive, and it made her heart race, her chest ache with love for him. "I'm her fiance." The French accent was thick, but it didn't match his voice, the combination being appropriately pampas. He shot her a nasty glare as he walked around the bed. "I have every right to her, says our fathers agreement, and she will be mine, or her father will lose every bit of backing my father gives him. I'll make sure of it." He was pacing, staring at them, waiting for a chance to grab her up and run like the coward he was, and she could see it. "Now, if you don t mind..." He walked towards her, his hand out stretched, but Kai's hold on her tightened, and he pulled her back, away from the hand. She didn't have to see him to know the look on his face, the defiant glare he was giving Jacques that could have burned a hole through the mans head should he pay attention to it. No, Jacques was paying attention to her. His eyes didn't leave her as he continued to get closer. "There's not much you can do to protect her, is there?" The comment was directed at Kai, though his eyes were locked on Lilith. "You're obviously not strong enough or influential enough to keep her safe." He snapped his fingers and three large men ran into the room from just outside the door, obviously waiting for his signal. "Hand her over, or you won t be able to leave the hospital for a longer period of time." A demand, as though she were a mere possession to be traded and bargained with. After a few moments, Kai leaned his head down, kissed her shoulder gently and squeezed her softly.

"I love you, Lilith." He whispered the words lowly in her ear so Jacques couldn't hear them. "I'll come for you, I promise. He won't be able to stop me. Nobody will." He kissed her neck gently and she saw Jacques fume. A defiant part of her flared in the moment and she turned to face Kai, pressing their lips together in a hot, passionate kiss. She heard the roar of anger from behind her, Jacques was losing his mind of such a simple thing.

"I love you, Kai." She breathed the words, as his arms were grabbed and pulled away from her. She felt Jacques' arm wrap around her waist and he pulled her back. "I love you!" Kai fought them, tried to stand, to pull her back, but the three men fought dirty, two holding his arms while the third punched his injury to ground him. And it did, his breath catching in his chest and blood seeped from the popped stitches. She was dragged from the room, thrown over Jacques shoulder like some sort of luggage. She fought him, kicked, screamed, begged, but he didn't let her go, and nobody helped, they simply watched. The men followed them out, running to catch up as they reached the car and he threw her inside. It was a limousine, the only sort of car he drove in, for he'd never bothered to learn how to drive himself. She fought to get out of the car. Pushing by him, she went for the door before the car moved, but he grabbed her from behind and the three men climbed in, slamming the door shut and ordering the driver to move. And he sped off in the direction of the airport, the window rolling up so he didn't have to listen to her scream, cry, beg to go back, to be free. Where had Layla been? What had they done to her? She knew her friend would have fought them with all she had, would have held them off long enough for Lilith and Kai to run, to get away from Jacques, at least for a little while.

The ride to the airport was loud, as she fought him, scratched at him and tried to get away. He forced her onto a private plane, tied her to the seat as it flew the twelve hours it took to get from Japan to Paris on the plane. She fought for the first eight, but had stopped the last four, her energy tapped out. As they landed, she continued to fight him, though not as harshly as she had due to the lack of energy. He drove her back to his apartment, forced her into a spare bed room, locking the door behind her from the outside. She was being held captive against her will, and there was nothing she could do. His influence in the government would keep him from getting in trouble, if she was even able to get out a call. He'd taken her cell phone, her computer, and the room he had locked her in had none of those things. It had one large window that looked out over the city, not even in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Her world slowed as she sat on the floor of the room, a deep chill settling in her bones. She'd never been so cold in her life, so broken. After a few hours, the sun began to rise outside the window, to peek above the horizon and intrude in the room, burning her red, tear filled eyes. Standing from the floor, she drew the curtains closed harshly and ran to the bed. Dropping her body against the soft cotton comforter, she buried her face, blocking the light. With a quick shiver, she climbed under the covers and covered herself with the material, her spirit breaking. The tears continued to fall, but she didn't make a sound, her world falling apart around her.

Several knocks sounded on her door, soft words from maids come to bring her food, or change her clothes. They would come in, sit the food next to the bed, shake her to get her up, but she would simply lay there. Hunger set in on her, a pain in her stomach, but she ignored it, her mind blank, her eyes glazed. She didn't sleep, she couldn't, not without the strong, warm arms that had wrapped around her, the heat that had seeped into her from the hardened body that she loved. She had died inside. She hadn't thought he would come after her so fast, find her so easily. She had thought that she had had time to be with Kai a little longer, to love him fully, but she was wrong.

* * *

><p>They'd tied him to the bed to protect him. To keep him from popping the stitches after they were redone. So that he could heal. He kept telling himself that, but it didn't hurt any less. He couldn't feel the pain from his wound any longer, his mind was blank, all he could think of with Lilith. Ray and Layla had come back after the fact, just minutes too late, but late was late. Layla had said she knew where he would take her, where he would keep her locked away in a tower and keep her useless. She had left to run to political point of it, returning to Russia to talk to her father, to reach out to Lilith's father and beg. Now, a day or two later, he didn't know anymore, he sat with Ray in the hospital room, his arms and legs bound to the bed by the large, thick leather straps, the only way to hold him. They were pumping him full of morphine and sedatives, but it didn't matter, he was still fighting. They had upped his dose as much as they could with the morphine, his body, and all other factors, but his will was stronger than they knew. Relaxing for a moment to gather himself, he looked over at Ray, who was sitting in a chair in the corner, his eyes to the floor, his eyes distant. His face was blank, but Kai knew what he was thinking. "Stop blaming yourself." He said softly to the other man, who jumped and looked up at him slowly.<p>

"I should've been here. I shouldn't have left. I should've stopped them, delayed them for you." His eyes glittered with the tears he refused to let himself shed, the tears he'd always held back. "We shouldn't have left for such a stupid reason. We should have been here for you two, protected you." He was rambling now, trying to convince himself he was at fault, even though he already believed it.

"There was nothing you could have done, Ray." He assured his friend, keeping his voice low, soft. "None of us knew about him, and certainly none of us expected him to come and drag her away like that." His words were sincere, but remembering it made his chest ache. "Hey, Ray..." He waited until the young man looked up at him, his catty eyes hesitant, cautious. "...find out when I can get out of here." Ray looked up at him fully now, a curious look on his face.

"You heard him, their gonna get married. What if you're too late? What if their already married by the time you go chasing after her, Kai?" He stood slowly, walking over to him and staring down.

"Then I'll steal her away." He held the golden gaze of his friend as he said the words, a look of determination of his face, burning in his eyes. "I'll take her and I won't look back, even if it means we have to keep running for the rest of our lives." His voice was stern, as confident as he felt. He would find her, and he would take her away from the man who had instilled a sort of fear that she should never have known. Ray calmly turned and walked to the door, but before opening it, he looked back at Kai.

"You really love her, don't you?" Kai nodded sharply and Ray sighed. "Enough to give up your life for her?" The question hung as he left the room before Kai could answer, shutting the door softly behind him. Kai stared at the door for a few moments, then looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, thinking of her, of their time together. The first time they'd met, when she confronted him directly, yelling at him defiantly over Layla. He remembered the feel of her in his arms, the softness of her skin with the strong scent of French Vanilla as he'd come so close to taking her, claiming her as his own. She'd opened herself to him, been ready for him. He couldn't stop the memories of her from flooding him, the short time they'd been together repeating in his mind. Ray had come back while they played, told him they'd let him out in a week, and he'd begun plotting. He slept, and dreamed of her, of holding her close, of kissing her and touching her. In his dreams, she called his name as he made love to her, she held on to him, loved him. He couldn't forget the sound of her musical voice saying his name, of telling him that she loved him. His lips ached to kiss her, his hands trembled to hold her, to touch her, and the time seemed to pass much too slowly. With each second that passed by, he could feel his rage growing. God help the man if he dared to touch Lilith.

* * *

><p>It had been four days since she'd been dragged away from Kai, at least, she thought it had been four days. Her lip ached as she dabbed the damp rag against it, wiping up the blood. Her arm hurt, and her head was pounding. She stared at the woman in the mirror, a distance in her slate gray eyes. Lilith knew she stared at herself, but it didn't feel like her, didn't look like her. The woman's hair was mussed, tangled and wild, unkempt and fell like vines in a jungle. Her skin was a pale gray, lifeless. She was weak, and thin, and her cheeks were tear stained, eyes reddened from crying. She remembered the beautiful woman she had seen in the mirror after her date with Kai, her hair brushed and fluffy, like a cloud in its airiness. Her skin had been warm with life, slightly pink with the excitement, her eyes burning with love. Now that woman was dead, having been torn apart as she had been thrust from his arms and forced back to a city that felt surreal. She stared at the large bruise that was darkening on her cheek, the small cut that bled above her eye, and the swelling slit at her bottom lip that she was dabbing with the cloth. She looked down at her neck and caught the bruising from his fingers, he'd held her still that way when she'd torn his hands out of her hair. Looking down, she stared at the black bruise on her arm, a defensive wound from her holding her arm up to defend herself, to block his blows. It hadn't worked. Her stomach clench tightly and she raced to the toilet, unable to hold down the bile that splashed into the waters. It burned, stung like hell due to her lack of food or water. It was dry, and that made it hurt worse. Her back hurt from where he'd forced her to the ground, her legs hurt from his kicks. He'd been careful to only hit her in places that would hurt, ache more than she could take, but didn't have the chance to kill her. She wet the cloth and gently dabbed it at the cut above her eye, an emotionless feeling over taking her. She missed Kai, she wanted to see him, to feel him holding her. She wanted him to make the pain go away, to warm the chill that had set into her bones, to love her as genuinely as he had. Slowly turning, she limped back to the bed, the chill being more than she could take any longer. She climbed under the covers, bundling herself up in the thick cotton, but it wasn't enough. She was starting to get used to the cold that clung to her, the stoned emptiness she felt inside of her. A few more days and she would be forced to marry the man who had just beaten her an hour ago. Enough time for the bruises to fade, the swelling to go down, and the cuts to be covered by make up. He had every intention of forcing her into the matrimony that would kill her, body and soul.<p>

* * *

><p>Kai stepped outside the doors and breathed in deeply the night air. He had been released with enough pain pills to kill a horse and directions to take it easy. He had no intention of listening to the orders, he intended to find Lilith. The car pulled up in front of him, since he had instructions not to drive, he had called his personal driver to pick him up. The man was willing to help, not only because he was paid well by the BioVolt CEO, but because he'd known Kai for years and was close enough to be called a friend. Instead of the airport, he drove Kai home, as Kai had ordered. Walking upstairs calmly, he locked himself away in his office and got on his computer. Going through his files, bank statements for the company, and several other needed things, he smiled as he leaned back in his chair. Layla had been unsuccessful, saying that her father needed the Leroy company just as much as they needed his and breaking the ties for such a "small thing" wasn't something he was willing to do. Kai didn't believe his love was a "small thing" and he found the thought a disgusting, and insulting one. Finally, after arranging everything in his favor, Kai picked up the phone and made a late night call that he knew would always be answered. The phone clicked, picked up on the other end, and a voice murmured a quick, sleepy, "hello".<p>

"I'm changing a few things." Kai said quickly, turning his chair to face the window and staring up at the night sky.

* * *

><p>"You dumb bitch!" His voice grated on her nerves like nails on a chalk board, scraping over her senses as she ran for cover. "You have no right to deny our wedding! This was set up by our fathers so their companies would mold perfectly! You can't refuse me!" She ducked out of his reach as he chased her, running around the room he'd trapped her in a week before. She'd refused the marriage, and then refused his touch. It hurt, stung her skin like a thousand needles, simply because he was not Kai. "Hold still for a minute!" Before she could think, he bashed the side of her head with the leg of a broken chair. Blood stained her blond hair as she fell to the floor, dazed by the blow. Her world spun, and for a few precious moments, she was immobilized. Their wedding was scheduled for tomorrow, but she wasn't having it. The moment she'd refused their matrimony to his face, he'd jumped her, tried to fuck her into submission, but she clawed at him, and he now bore the proof. He wasn't happy about the claw marks she'd left from dragging her nails across his face as he'd forced her pants off. He was also angry at the bite marks on his arm from her struggles as he'd torn off her shirt. She knew that he wasn't as angry over the marriage, as he was over her refusal to take him. He'd gone to bed with several women, women she knew his father had paid off later on. However, the amount was enough to inflate his head into believing he could get any woman to love him, and she would be damned if she ever would.<p>

"Stay away from me!" She screamed the words as loud as she could, turning and running for the door to the room. The needles again, the sensation of him grabbing her arms and forcing them behind her before she could reach the door. She kicked and screamed as he picked her up and dragged her to the bed, throwing her on her stomach and leaning against her. She could feel it, his hard on. The not-so-big bulge was pressed against her, but he was hard enough to tell her that all of her struggles only turned him on. He wanted her to scream, to cry, to fight it. He wanted to rape her. "No!" She continued to struggle as he held her down, using one hand and his body to restrain her hands while he pulled her underwear down and unzipped his pants, pulling out his measly hard on.

"I'm gonna fuck you up, and when I'm done, you won't remember your precious pretty boy." His words were hissed into her ear as he positioned him against her entrance. She wriggled, kicked, clenched her legs shut, anything she could think of to keep him out, but he'd maneuvered his way around them all. Just as he was about to press in, though, a saving knock echoed into the room. "What the hell do you want?" He screeched as he looked towards the door. She continued to struggle, as the door swung open with such force that it slammed against the wall and left a dent. "Did I say you could-" His angry words were brought to a stop as he stared at the figure in the doorway. "Get him out of here!" He screamed, but nobody moved. Shifting her body beneath him, she looked towards the door. Lilith felt her heart stop as emotion welled up inside her and her eyesight began to blur with her tears. Nobody moved to stop him, instead, they moved to back him. Kai stood in the doorway, his face full of a calm, stormy anger.

"They won't stop me, if they know what's good for them." His voice was calm, confident, as he spoke, slowly stepping towards them. Jacques let go of her hands in favor of pulling his pants up and standing in front of Kai. Weak, Lilith slid from the edge of the bed to the floor, staring at Kai. She couldn't believe what was happening. "After all they work for me, not you." Kai smiled, a quirky, confident smile that hinted at something much more evil. "You're fired, Jacques Ramound." There was a moment of silence, a stale, stinging silence, before Jacques began laughing.

"You can't fire me! I'm the son of the company owner! The CEO!" He screamed, pointing a boney finger at Kai harshly. Kai kept the smile as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a packet of papers that had been carelessly shoved there. Cautiously, Jacques snatched the papers from his hand and stared at the page. His eyes skimmed the page and widened as each word registered. Flipping through it, he read each page as Lilith pulled herself up onto the bed and watched him carefully. He finally came to the last page which had the agreement signature from his father on it, and he stared at it for much longer than needed to read it. Kai walked around Jacques and came up behind Lilith, wrapping an arm around her waist and lifting her up onto the bed. She stared up at him as though he were a dream, her tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as her heart pounded in her chest. A roar of frustration sounded from Jacques as he threw the packet that stated that Kai now owned everything he'd used to control her, every right he'd waved in front of her for so long. He now owned the Ramound company. Turning, the man went for Kai, his hands up, ready to strike and Lilith tensed as fear over took her. The guards at the door ran and caught Jacques before he could get close enough to harm her or Kai. As the guards dragged him out of the room kicking and screaming like a child throwing a temper tantrum, Lilith look up at Kai. Her head was pounding and she knew she had a decent sized lump forming on it. She had no make up on, and she hadn't eaten more than needed in the last week. The cut on her lip and above her eye were still visible as were a few of the bruises he'd given her. Kai knelt down in front of her and stared at her, pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you sooner." He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand, his heat seeping into her deeply. The chill that had haunted her, made sleeping harder than it should have been, was chased away by his slightest touch. Leaning into his hand, she grabbed hold of his arm and held it to her as tightly as she could muster in her weakened state.

"Just don't let it happen again." She said the words with the intention of chuckling with them, but she couldn't manage it. All she could manage were the tears that streaked down her cheeks. The tears that he wiped away gently as he kissed her closed eyes. "I love you, Kai." She whispered the words softly as she clung to him, her body trembling. He shushed her before she could say it again and stood up. He grabbed some clothes and helped her dress, then lead her from the building to the car he had waiting at the entrance. As they sat in the car, she settled in next to him, his heat sinking into her and relaxing her completely. Before she knew it, they were on a private plane heading back to Japan. The long flight had passed by without her knowing it last time, but now, she was aware of it. He lead her to the back room of the spacious plane, shutting the door behind them.

"Sleep here, if you need anything just press that button." He laid her down in the soft, warm bed and pointed to a small button above the headboard. He turned and started to walk away from her when she clung to him tightly. Lilith couldn't muster the words needed to keep him with her, all she could do was shake her head and whimper. His body relaxed as she clung to him, staring up at him with large, pleading eyes. They were glazed, darkened with the need for sleep and food, but most importantly, love. Stripping off his shirt, Kai slid his body into the bed with her, pulling her close. "I won't go anywhere, I promise." He kissed her forehead softly. So soft, so gentle. He'd always been gentle with her, always treated her as a man should, with love. Snuggling up against him, Lilith drifted into a deep sleep as his arms wrapped around her, held her close. Kai, just as sleep deprived as Lilith, slipped into his own restful slumber, holding her tightly to him to assure that nobody would ever take her from him again.


End file.
